Match report

Having won the winter league competition with the same age group
team we traveled to Whitgift School for the first round of the
2018 summer championship in confident mood.
With the inclusion of a number of new teams the competition is
now played in three divisions and we will play against Watford,
Croydon, Ealing and Chelmsford in the top league.
At the first tournament we faced matches against Watford and
Croydon and these are the individual match reports:

Worthing 8, Watford 3.
A relatively comfortable win eventually but a very well
organised Watford team made it very difficult for us for long
periods in this match. We particularly struggled to create good
service into the centre forward but the opposition deserve
credit for the way that they defended.
Eventually we started to dominate the match, particularly as a
result of a a very effective full press defence that often
resulted in a counter attack. Grace was particularly impressive
marking the opposition centre forward and she also ventured into
attack to score a couple of excellent goals.
Overall we definitely deserved to win the match but we didn't
play at our best.
Scorers: Jamie 4, Grace 2, Mattie 1, Josh L 1
Exclusions: Josh L 2

Worthing 9, Croydon 4
This was a better performance and we controlled the match form
the start and as a result we were able to play all of the squad
for good periods.
Once again our defending was the key to our success and all of
the squad worked hard to limit the opposition to a relatively
small number of chances.
We probably could have scored more goals but we missed a number
of chances which we really should have converted. All of the
squad made good contributions and this was another encouraging
performance.
Scorers: Jamie 4, Josh L 3, Caitlin 2
Exclusions: Grace 1, Lucy 1, Josh D 1

Match report

17/4/2018

Under 14 London Winter League (2004 & younger)
Final Four Play Off
Whitgift School
Sunday 15th April 2018

The 2017-2018 Winter league competition concluded with an
exciting play off final that took place at the excellent deep
water pool at Whitgift school.
The first phase of the competition had seen the teams split into
north and south divisions with the top two from each then
qualifying for the final play off.
Worthing won the south division with Beckenham as runners up.
Watford and Ealing qualified form the north division and both
have been producing very competitive junior teams for a number
of years.
The individual match reports are as follows:

Worthing 9, Ealing 4 (H/T 3-1)

We made a relatively slow start to the competition against a
strong Ealing team who possess a number of talented players
including a very strong centre forward.
Eventually our tactics and speed of counter attack began to take
control and Josh and Jamie were a constant threat alternating at
centre forward.
Grace worked hard in defence to nullify the opposition attack
but all of the squad contributed to a solid display.
Scorers: Josh 5, Jamie 3, Henry 1
Exclusions: Caitlin 1, Josh 1

Worthing 9, Watford 1 (H/T 7-1)

This was an excellent performance against a Watford team that
includes a number of big and strong boys who can dominate a
physical game. Our tactics worked really well and as a result
Watford were unable to get the ball to their centre forward in
dangerous areas and our counter attack was always a constant
threat.
We dominated the first half of the match and in the second
period we controlled possession for long periods. Owen produced
a couple of good saves when required but this was a really
dominant display against a strong team.
Scorers: Josh 3, Caitlin 2, Mattie 2, Lucy 1, Jamie 1
Exclusions: Josh 1, Grace 1

Worthing 9, Beckenham 1 (H/T 4-1)

Another excellent performance to end the day and once again our
tactics meant that we dominated the opposition in both defence
and attack. Jamie and Josh were a constant threat both on the
counter attack and at centre forward and they shared the 9 goals
that we scored. This though was another good all round team
display with our defensive play offering the opposition only a
small number of chances.
Scorers: Jamie 5, Josh 4
Exclusions: Jamie 1, Lucy 1, Henry 1

As a result of the three wins we took the title which is the
first London League championship that we have won for around 10
years. Without doubt, we were the best team in the competition
playing with a combination of talented players and tactics that
none of the teams that we played came to terms with. All of the
squad made significant contributions and all of them have great
potential to develop further in the coming months and years. The
team was well supported by parents and friends and as always we
are grateful for the efforts of our sponsor Roffey Homes.
I have attached a
photo of the winning squad: L-R Josh, Mattie, Jamie, Henry,
Owen, Grace, Caitlin, Ruby, Lucy.

Please come back to me if you should require any further
information.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

22/3/2018

This is the final report from the 2017/2018 National League
season.

British Water Polo League Championship 2.
Hinckley Leisure Centre
March 18th/19th 2018

We travelled to the recently opened Hinckley leisure centre for
the final two matches of the 2017/2018 season.
Throughout the campaign we have played a number of very close
matches and this weekend was to be no different with both games
really proving to be highly competitive. These are the
individual match reports:

This match may have ended in defeat but it was undoubtedly one
our best performances of the season. Portobello went on to win
the division and are a really good team that features a large
number of the current Scotland squad.
We spoke at length in advance of the match that we would have to
have a tactical plan to deal with the opposition centre forward
who is a consistent goal scorer. We also had a slightly unusual
attacking plan that we felt might work well against this
opposition and this worked particularly well at the start of the
match.
Our defending was so good in the first half of the match that we
only conceded one goal to the highest scoring team in the league
who struggled to create any chances for the centre forward. Marc
was in good form dealing with a number of the shots from
distance and to lead 3-1 at the half-time break illustrated how
well we had played.
We lost the match in a disappointing third period when we lost
our way in defence and as a result Portobello took advantage
with some excellent outside shooting.
The final period was another close affair and although we had
chances to reduce the deficit we missed a number of
opportunities.
We never like losing games but this was a really good team
performance where everyone made a contribution and it
illustrated that we are capable of competing with the higher
ranked teams.
Scorers: Joao 2, George 1, Matt 1.
Exclusions: Archy 1, George 1, Elliot 1, Joao 1, Robbie 1,
Alastair 1

This was another highly competitive match which we were
desperately unlucky to lose in the final couple of minutes when
George conceded a controversial penalty.
We actually had an excellent opportunity to equalize in the last
30 seconds of the match when Cambridge had a player excluded but
the opposition goal keeper made the save that condemned us to a
defeat by the narrowest of margins.
To be fair, we didn't play badly but we never quite found the
level of performance that we had produced on the previous day. A
few unforced errors crept into our play and we were also
penalized by the referees with a number of attacking reversals
which were not always easy to understand. We didn't play badly
but all the squad realized that if we had played in a similar
way to the previous day against Portobello we probably would
have won the match relatively comfortably
Scorers: George 3, Ben 2, Joao 2, Matt 1
Exclusions: George 1, Joao 1, Toby 1, Akos 1, Matt 1, Alastair 1

I have attached a picture of the squad taken outside the pool in
a very cold and snow covered Hinckley.
L-R, Elliot, Jacob, Matt, Ben, George, Archy, Akos, Marc, Joao,
Toby, Robbie, Alastair Roberts, Alastair Hardinge.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

28/2/2018

Sometimes you have to tell it how it is and this was not the
best weekend for the Worthing water polo teams. The senior men's
team was in action in the British Water Polo league in Grantham
and detailed match reports follow.
Our under 14 juniors were due to play at the Queen Elizabeth's
School pool in Barnet in the final four play-off in the London
winter league. Having traveled all the way to the venue the
teams discovered that the movable floor at the pool was broken
and so the tournament could not take place. We hope that the
event will be re-scheduled in the coming weeks.

The reports from Grantham are as follows:

British Water Polo League Championship 2
Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham
17/18 February 2018.

The Welsh are a well organised and powerful team who are one of
the favorites to win this division and although we played well
at times we found it very difficult to sustain a high enough
level of performance to be competitive.
We defended reasonably well for long periods, but we always
struggled in attack against a very physical pressing defence and
we didn't really create enough clear cut chances.
We didn't play that badly and we conceded a couple of late goals
that made the final score look a little harsh.
Scorers: Matt 2, Dave 1, George 1
Exclusions: Dave 1, Akos 1, Alastair 1

A really disappointing performance and result against a team
that, if we had played anywhere near our capability, we would
expect to beat.
We started fairly well and deservedly led 2-0 at the end of the
first quarter but we then became embroiled in the type of match
that the opposition wanted to play. We then made far too many
unforced errors, often in very dangerous areas and we were
regularly punished for our poor play.
This was a difficult game that we really should have been good
enough to win but we didn't do enough to record a positive
result.
Scorers: Ben 3, George 1, Dave 1, Jacob 1, Matt 1
Exclusions;- Ben 2, Elliot 1, Dave 1, Jacob 1, Akos 1

Unfortunately we carried on from the Castleford match with a
poor performance in the first period of the next match and we
never really recovered from 1-4 down at the end of the quarter.
Our defending was never really what it should have been and we
struggled to put into practice the system that we were trying to
play. As a result we allowed Southampton to score a number of
goals that really should have been avoided.
Our attacking play was also struggling to create chances but we
did have good opportunities that we then failed to capitalise
on.
This was another relatively poor performance and we looked tired
which made it very hard to sustain any type of comeback.
Scorers: George 2, Richard 2, Dave 1, Matt 1
Exclusions: George 1, Richard 1, Dave 1, Toby 1, Jacob 1, Akos
1.

As I mentioned at the start of this report, this was a difficult
and ultimately disappointing weekend when we didn't play
anywhere near the standard of water polo that we are capable of.
We have two matches against Portobello and Cambridge left in the
current season which will be played when we travel to the
recently opened new facility in Hinkley in a months time.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Water Polo News

28/2/2018
Four Worthing juniors are attending the England water polo
national academy training this weekend (10th/11th February) at
Northampton boys school.
Grace Byford, Caitlin Silk, Mattie Smith and Jamie Bond were all
nominated to join the program after impressive performances
playing for the South east in the national inter region
championships that were played at the end of last year.
This is the first time that girls and boys born in 2004 have
been invited to national squad training and the four Worthing
squad members will be working hard both in and out of the pool
in what will be a tough weekend.
Both the girls and boys squads comprise around 30 athletes and
they will be attending a number of sessions throughout this
year.
Please come back to me if you should require any further
information.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

14/1/2018
We returned to the Haberdashers School pool in Elstree earlier
today for the second match this weekend in the British Water
Polo League championship 2.
Having snatched a draw on the Saturday against Croydon we knew
that today's game against West London Penguin would be a very
tough encounter and it proved to be the case.

Worthing 6, Penguin 16.
Quarter Scores: 0-2, 1-5, 3-5, 2-4

We knew that this would be very difficult match against a well
organised and very physical team that features a large number of
talented players. We also thought that the effort made in the
game on Saturday afternoon against Croydon, when we came back
from a 3 goal deficit in the final period, would have taken a
great deal out of the squad. This proved to be the case and we
always struggled to deal with strength of the oppositions
pressing game.
We actually started the game fairly well and in the first period
our zone defence was frustrating Penguin and we also looked well
organised in attack. As on the Saturday we failed to take our
chances, particularly with a number of the opportunities that we
had when the opposition had a player excluded.
In the second quarter we lost our defensive discipline and as a
result Penguin scored a number of goals that really should have
been avoided.
We never gave up and our willingness to counter attack resulted
in Penguin committing 17 exclusion fouls but we failed to
capitalise on far too many of these chances.
The final score is probably a harsh reflection of the game but
we really had few complaints because we knew that we hadn't
consistently played as well as we can.
We could take a number of positives from the match including how
well a number of our juniors played in the game. Henry played
the final period in goal making a number of excellent saves and
this gave Marc to chance score his debut goal in the national
league.

The season continues with a very busy three match program at
Grantham on the weekend of 17th/18th February.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

14/1/2018
We have been back in action today playing the first match of the
second phase of the British Water Polo League at Haberdashers
School in Elstree.

The match report is as follows:

Worthing 9, Croydon 9
Quarter scores: 1-4, 2-2, 2-1, 4-2

Having played a number of close games in the first phase of this
national league season when we regularly came from behind to
either win or draw in the final seconds, we produced another
nail biting display to secure a really hard won point.
The second phase of the season will see us play in Championship
2 which is made up of the bottom three clubs from division 2
along with the top 5 from division 3. We play all the teams once
and the top 3 will compete in division 2 next season and if we
can achieve this then we will have secured promotion.
The draw for the first weekend was tough for us as we have to
play 2 of the 3 division 2 teams with the match against Croydon
on the Saturday and West London Penguin on the Sunday.
We didn't play that badly in the fist quarter of the game but we
conceded a couple of soft goals and we missed a number of
chances when we probably should have scored. The second period
was similar, and we continued to create some good chances
without taking enough of the opportunities.
At half time we changed tactics sensing that Croydon may tire
and this immediately started to produce results and at the start
of the final period we only trailed by 2.
It was obvious that the first goal in the fourth quarter would
be crucial and we had chances to reduce the deficit to 1 goal
but we missed when we really should have scored. Croydon took
advantage and scored to stretch the lead to 8-5 but Ben came up
with a great finish to make the score 8-6. We looked like we had
the momentum but Croydon scored again to make the score 9-6 with
just under 6 minutes left but amid a flurry of time outs and
exclusions we staged another excellent comeback.
Joao scored to reduce the margin to 9-7 and Ben came up with
another good finish to make the score 9-8. In a very exciting
conclusion Croydon committed another exclusion foul and Joao
came up with an excellent finish to tie the game at 9-9 with
just over 1 minute left.
Our second half display was really pleasing and we took the game
to Croydon which was responsible for the high number of
exclusions (12) that they committed.
Overall we have to be happy with the draw but these games often
come down to small margins and it would not have taken a great
deal for us to have secured a win.

Match report

18/12/2017
This is the last report from a very busy 2017 water polo season.

London Winter League Under 14 Championship.
Whitgift School
Sunday 17th December 2017

Having won the first two matches at the first round of the under
14 winter league championship, we were looking forward to this
tournament which would decide if we qualified for the top four
play offs that will be played next year.
The individual match reports are as follows:

Worthing 12, Croydon 1.
This was a impressive win and Croydon never came to terms with
our high tempo pressing game and the speed of our counter
attack. Jamie and Josh were a constant threat in attack and
between them they scored all 12 goals, but this was a really
good squad performance and Owen actually made a number of good
saves.
It was good to see the younger members of the squad beginning to
make significant contributions and they will obviously continue
to improve as a result of this experience.
Scorers: Josh 7, Jamie 5
Exclusion: Ruby

Worthging 8, Beckenham 6
The program for the event meant that we had to play the two four
quarter matches with no break and this was always going to be
hard work for our small squad.
This proved to be true but we still did enough to control this
match and we were definitely the better side.
Josh and Jamie again dominated the scoring but Mattie also
scored a really important goal. Once again, all of the squad
played a good part in the win and the goal scorers benefited
from some really good team play which created the chances.
Scorers: Josh 4, Jamie 3, Mattie 1
Exclusion: Josh

Having won all four of the first phase matches we will now play
in the final four play off round which will take place at the
start of next year. We have good squad of players and it has
been really encouraging to include a number of our younger
players who will benefit greatly from having been involved.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

13/12/2017

Inter Regional Championships

10 December
2017

Three Worthing boys played
in the under 14 inter regions at Walsall last weekend. Jamie
Bond, Mattie Smith and Henry Broadhurst were part of a squad of
11 that produced some excellent performances over the two days.
The team was also coached by Ben Alcorn.
The South East region finished in a very creditable sixth place
in what was a very tight competition. In the group phase the
team drew with the North East 4-4 and lost to the West Midlands
by the narrowest margin 3-4 and these two teams went on to meet
in the final. The South East also beat Scotland and North West
Ravens comfortably before losing the 5th/6th play off to the
South West.
Jamie was the leading scorer for the region with 14 goals and
was voted the teams MVP by the other coaches but Mattie and
Henry also made really good contributions.
I have attached a squad
photo which has Jamie in the back row 3rd from the right,
Mattie is in the front row on the left and Henry is the 2nd from
the right. Ben is at the right hand end of the back row.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

9/12/2017

Inter Regional Championships

3 December
2017

Three Worthing girls featured in the South
East under 14 team that won the bronze medal at the recent inter
regional championships at Walsall.

The third place
finish was achieved after a demolition of London region by a
score of 16-5 when Caitlin scored a remarkable 10 goals with
Grace adding 3 and Ruby 1. Not a bad effort from the Worthing
girls, who contributed 14 of 16 goals in such a crucial match.

Caitlin was the second top scorer (by 1 goal) at the tournament
with 24, Grace scored 9 and Ruby 1.
The region were delighted to finish in the top 3 at the
competition and the three girls have all been complimented on
the high standard of their play.

I have attached a
photo of the squad with Caitlin second from the right in the
back row with Grace and Ruby at the right hand side of the front
row. Here is the
Worthing Three.

Please come back to me if you require any further information

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

9/12/2017

Mid Sussex Marlins

26 November 2017

We took a very young squad of boys and girls to play against Mid
Sussex Marlins at the Dolphin Leisure centre pool in Haywards
Heath on Sunday evening.

Mid Sussex had a large squad who were relatively inexperienced
but very enthusiastic but we eventually recorded a 22-7 win. It
was encouraging to see a number of the younger Worthing squad
members make good contributions and everyone played well.
Squad in full: Josh Coulson, Jamie Bond, Mattie Smith, Ruby
Rosser, Ben Bolton, Joe Boot, Etham Foxwell, Maisie Standen &
Henry Broadhurst.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

9/12/2017

Under 14 Inter County Tournament

12 November 2017

Six Worthing boys and girls played in the Sussex under 14 team
that won the Inter County event last Sunday winning all 4
matches.
The
report and
picture are attached.

Match report

The first phase of the national league season saw our senior
team return to the excellent deep water pool at Haberdashers
school in Elstree.

After the first two weekends we had won three of the four
matches that we had played and as result we only required 1 win
form the remaining 3 fixtures to secure a top five finish. This
would guarantee a place in Championship 2 in the second phase of
the competition which would give us the opportunity of promotion
to division 2 for next season.

The three game weekends are always hard work but we were
confident that we could secure the results that we required.

This looked to be the toughest game of the first phase of the
season against a Portobello team that features a number of
players who have experience of playing at the top level in
British water polo.
The game proved to be very difficult but we really didn't help
ourselves with a below par performance when we struggled to play
with any energy for long periods.
We made a slow start conceding a number of goals that really
should have been avoided and we never really played the type of
water polo that we are capable of.
It was a disappointing start against the best team we have
played but all of the squad realised that we hadn't really done
ourselves justice.

A win was required and a win was eventually secured after a
nervous finish to a game that we should really have won
comfortably after leading 7-3 at half-time.
We played well at times, particularly in the second quarter when
our high pressing game gained possession on many occasions. Matt
was a constant threat at centre forward and by half time we
looked as though we would secure a relatively simple win.
A poor third quarter let Ealing back into the game and made for
a nervous finish to the match which really should have been
avoided. At one stage in the final period Ealing had reduced our
lead to 10-9 but Ben Curtis came up to with two good goals to
make the game safe.
The win was what we required and as a result we secured the top
five finish with a game to spare. It also meant that the match
against Cambridge on Sunday morning would decide who finished
second in the division.

Another close match that we really should have won but we missed
too many chances and we also contrived to concede a number of
goals that really should have been avoided.
We always looked the better team but we seemingly couldn't
convert this into a comfortable lead and we kept trading goals
throughout the match.
Cambridge worked hard but we really should have built a lead by
half time. In the end a draw was probably the right result,
particularly as we fell behind with only
20 seconds remaining but in a frantic finish Matt scored with 5
seconds left to secure the point.
This was a game that we probably should have won but the third
game of the weekend is always tough and we all knew that we
could have played better. That said, the draw was enough to
secure second place in the division which we would have
definitely settled for before the season started.

Overall this was a satisfactory weekend when we secured the
results we required which was by far the most important thing.
We now don't play again until January when we will play the
first matches of the second phase of the season. We know that
this will be tough but all of the squad are looking forward to
the challenge of trying to secure promotion to division 2.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

19/10/2017

This is the latest report from the 2017
Sussex County Water Polo season.

This was a dominant display from a Worthing team that was
actually missing a number of established squad members but we
were still far too strong for an enthusiastic but limited
opposition who were playing with only 7 players.
After a relatively slow start to the match our pressing game
eventually proved too much for Hastings who struggled to
maintain possession on many occasions.
We scored time and again on the counter attack and Ben Curtis
(8) and Alastair Hardinge (6) led the scoring.
This though was a good all round team display where all of the
squad made a significant contribution to what was a very
comfortable win.

Match report

16/10/2017

London Water Polo League Under 16
Championships (2002 & younger).
Sunday 15th October 2017
Whitgift School, South Croydon

We travelled to Whitgift School with a young squad knowing that
we would be playing three very tough matches against teams that
include a number of very talented boys and girls. It proved to
be a tough day but all of our squad played well and will have
learned a great deal from the experience.
The individual match reports are as follows:

Worthing 5, Croydon 6 (H/T 2-2)
This was a game that we should have won but we missed far too
many chances, particularly in a dominant first half, and we were
punished for some poor defending at key moments. We did play
very well at times and we really should have secured a win but
our relative lack of experience eventually proved costly.
Scorers: Oscar 2, Akos 1, Josh 1, Jamie 1.

Worthing 2, Beckenham 11 (H/T 1-5)
A tough game against a very talented team and although the final
score indicates a heavy defeat we actually played well for long
periods. We were punished with a very strong counter attack when
we lost possession but we never gave up and we did score two
very good goals.
Scorers: Oscar 1, Jamie 1

Worthing 2, Chelmsford 7 (H/T 0-2)
Another very tough game against a team that is very similar to
Beckenham but we defended well for most of the game and we
frustrated the opposition on many occasions. All of the squad
made a significant contribution and we probably should have
scored more goals but our finishing was not at its best.
Scorer: Josh 2

We knew that this would be a tough event for us but the boys and
girls will benefit greatly from having played against some very
talented opponents. We never gave up and all of the squad worked
incredibly hard throughout three very hard matches.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

10/10/2017

It was a good weekend on all fronts for the
Worthing swimming club water polo teams with the senior men
winning both games in the national league and our under 14's
also winning twice in the London league at Whitgift school.
We have been seeded to play in the top division playing against
the stronger teams in the south but we have a good squad of
players in this age group who are making very good progress.
Our first match was against Beckenham and we recovered from a 2
goal deficit to finally win the match 6-3.
After a short break we played Croydon and they were no match for
our positive counter attacking and we ran out comfortable 9-4
winners.
All of the squad played a part but it was particularly good to
see a number of the younger boys playing for the first time in a
"proper" competition. We were also missing Caitlin Silk who
would definitely have made the squad even stronger.

The fixture secretary of the national league produced an
interesting schedule for the season that resulted in the south
coast derby taking place 300 miles from home at Salt Ayre in
Lancaster.

We took a squad of 12 players to play against our familiar
rivals and we produced a really solid display that was based on
a very good defensive display. With Marc back in goal and
utilising an aggressive pressing defence, we dominated
proceedings from the start and we probably should have won by a
greater margin if we had taken more of the many chances that we
created.

All of the squad enjoyed a good amount of water time and it
always helps to have fresh players on the bench ready to come in
and contribute. Stefan scored his first goal playing in the
national league and Matt led the scorers with 5 but this really
was a very solid team performance.

This was always going to be difficult game against an opposition
who take a very old fashioned approach to water polo. To a
number of our younger squad members this was the first time that
they had played in this type of match when our opponents did all
they could to slow down our swimming game.
They were partly successful but we always looked in control of
the match even if we didn't play our best water polo and we
eventually ran out comfortable winners.
We looked a little tired and perhaps the effort we put into the
Southampton game on the Saturday, when we had played so well,
had taken its toll.

Overall this was an excellent weekend when we secured the two
wins that have taken us a stage closer to playing in
Championship 2 in the second phase of the competition. This will
then give us the possibility of promotion to division 2 for next
season.
We complete the first phase of the competition with a busy 3
game weekend at the Haberdashers school pool in Elstree in three
weeks time.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

This was a relatively simple win in an entertaining match
against a spirited Crawley team that features a number of junior
players who are continuing to improve.
We dominated the first quarter with a combination of a strong
pressing defence and quick counter attack which proved far too
much for the opposition. Having eased to a 6-0 lead we were
controlling the match and we used the remainder of the game to
make a number of changes.
In the end we ran out comfortable winners but we didn't play at
our best for long periods of the match. That said, all of the
squad enjoyed a good amount of water time and we did score a
number of good goals even if our defending wasn't its normal
high standard.

It was a difficult build up to this game with a number of our
established squad members unavailable for a variety of reasons
and we were particularly hampered by the late withdrawal of our
ever reliable first choice goalkeeper Marc Guimera due to work
commitments. That said, we brought in 17 year old Henry
Elwell-Sutton to make his BWPL debut in goal and he had an
outstanding match producing a number of fine saves that indicate
that he has a really promising future. We also weren't helped by
fellow debutant Stefan Berechet feeling very unwell which meant
he was only able to play a limited amount in the match.
We made an excellent start in the match and our tactics were
proving very successful in denying Birmingham many shooting
opportunities. As previously mentioned, Henry produced some fine
saves when required and we also always looked dangerous on the
counter attack.
The game turned on a controversial decision when the officials
excluded Joao for the remainder of the match in the second
quarter which may well have been a case of mistaken identity.
His loss, and the subsequent foul trouble that the team found
itself in, took its toll in the second half and we struggled to
deal with the bigger, older and stronger Birmingham team
Although we never like losing games we should take a great
number of positives from how we played for long periods. We had
a very young team in the water and Akos made his national league
debut at 14 years of age and he was unlucky not to score with a
chance late in the game.
Scorers: Richard 3, Ben 2, Toby 2, George 1.
Exclusions: Richard 3, Joao 3, Alastair 3, Toby 2, Stefan 1.

Quite simply, one of the most exciting games of national league
water polo that we have ever been involved with which had and
incredible climax when we came from behind to snatch a dramatic
winner.
With Stefan unavailable because of illness we only started with
a squad of 10 and we soon lost Alastair in the first period when
he was excluded for the remainder of the match for misconduct.
The game ebbed and flowed in the first half with the teams
trading goals but a poor third quarter, when tiredness was
becoming a factor, meant that we started the final period
trailing 6-9. The first goal was always going to be important
and Richard quickly reduced the deficit shortly followed by
another good finish by George. At 8-9 we were definitely back in
the game but Castleford took a two goal lead again with a
penalty that Henry nearly saved.
Joao scored to make the score 9-10 and then again on a man-up
play to level the match 10-10 with just over two minutes
remaining. In a frantic finish puntuated by a flurry of time
outs, Castleford missed an opportunity to take the lead on a
man-up after George was excluded and we regained possession with
just under 30 seconds left.
Toby worked hard at centre forward and with 9 seconds left he
won an exclusion foul and with the clock running down, Joao
produced a cool finish to score with 2 seconds left securing the
win.
This was a terrific win and all of the squad made significant
contributions but I would like to make a special mention of
Henry who came in at short notice to play in goal. He made a
number of significant saves including a penalty, often at key
times in the match, and at 17 years of age he looks to have a
very bright future.
Scorers: Joao 4, George 3, Ben 2, Richard 1, Jacob 1.
Exclusions: Alastair 3, Ben 2, Jacob 2, George 1, Richard 1,
Joao 1, Toby 1.

Match report

We travelled to the all deep pool at the Triangle in Burgess
Hill for the latest county league match. We made the decision to
take a squad the combined some of our established senior players
with a number of juniors (Joe B, Oscar, Akos, Josh & Jamie),
some of whom were playing their first competitive senior match.

The final score reflects the difference between the teams and we
controlled the match throughout with our counter attacking play
always causing the opposition problems.
All of the squad enjoyed a good amount of water time and the
juniors particularly impressed with the way that they played.

Match report

Friday evening at the Price Regent pool for a match against
Brighton is never an easy affair with the shallow, narrow venue
not exactly what we are used to.
With a small squad of only 9 players we knew that this would be
a tough and uncompromising affair and that was exactly what it
proved to be.
The officials did a good job in challenging circumstances and
our high tempo pressing game led to the opposition committing a
number of exclusion fouls that we regularly capitalised upon.
The match was close up to half time and the second period in
particular was poor display by our normal standards when we
contrived to concede a number of disappointing goals.
We found our form in the second half of the match scoring 9
times without conceding and we eventually ran out relatively
comfortable winners.
Scorers: Joao 7, Richard 4, Ben C 3, Joe 2, Toby 1, Ben A 1.
Exclusions: Ben A 1, Adrian 1, Robbie 1, Richard 1, Joao 1

Match report

13/7/2017

It's been another busy few days with our senior team in
action in the annual Army water polo tournament and six of our
juniors playing for the SE region at Northampton in the under 16
inter regional championships.

I have attached the
report (by Ben Alcorn) of the event at Aldershot and also my
report of the tournament at Northampton.

Last weekend we had six of our under 16 boy's squad
playing for the South East region at Northampton. Akos
Hausknecht, Jamie Bond, Oscar Silk, Ben Bolton, Mattie Smith and
Josh Coulson all enjoyed the opportunity of playing against
teams from around the UK.

This weekend Grace Byford, Caitlin Silk and Maisie Standen have
played in the girls competition which was played in Liverpool.
The club should be very proud that we had 9 representatives in
these two squads and it indicates that we are still producing
talented junior players.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

2/7/2017
We have had a busy period of matches over the past week and this
included two county league games as well as the SE region men's
tournament that was played at Splashpoint.

This was a decent game against a young Crawley team that worked
hard throughout the match. We always controlled the game and
although we missed a number of easy chances we were by far the
better team.
Jacob gave us the lead early in the match and Joe and Joao soon
added further goals. We defended solidly throughout and Crawley
were reduced to a small number of chances but Ben was his normal
reliable self in goal.
In the end this was a relatively straight forward win but credit
should go to Crawley who always made it hard for us.
Scorers: Joe 5, Joao 3, Jacob 2, Matt 2, Ben C 2, Richard 1.
Exclusions: Robbie 1, Richard 1, Adrian 1, Joao 1, Archy 1,
Jacob 1.
Squad in full: Ben Alcorn, Adrian Irbe, Richard Hooper, Joao
Martins, Archy Burnell, Jacob Nash, Matt White, Ben Curtis, Joe
Hazeldine, Joe Brennand, Dave Hinder, Akos Hausknecht.

This was an easy win against a Basingstoke team that really
struggled to deal with our attacking play throughout the match.
Our counter attack was particularly dominant and we scored on a
number of occasions when we forced a turn over of possession.
The goals were shared arouind 9 of our outfield players and the
match served as a useful warm up for the later game against
Southampton.
Scorers: Vytas 6, Peter 5, George 3, Joao 3, Toby 2, Marc 1,
Archy 1, Richard 1, Joe 1.
Exclusions: Toby 2, Joe 2, Archy 1, Vytas 1.

Match 2. Worthing 9, Southampton 4
Quarter scores: 4-0, 0-2, 4-1, 1-1

A tough encounter against a much improved Southampton team who
worked hard to stop us playing our normal style of play.
We played particularly well in the first quarter with Vytas
causing the opposition problems at centre forward and our fist
goal, from Peter, came as a result of a man-up play. We soon
scored again from another man-up and we added goals from Ben C
and Joe before the end of the period.
We were well organised in defence and although Southampton
worked hard they never created enough clear cut chances to get
back into the game.
Eventually we won the match relatively comfortably but it was
always a physical encounter and Joao was particularly unlucky to
be excluded for an alleged brutality.
Scorers: Peter 3, Joe 2, Richard 1, Ben A 1, Joao 1, Vytas 1.
Exclusions: Joao 3, Joe 2, Richard 1, Peter 1, Vytas 1.

This was a very tough game played in the old fashioned dimly lit
deep/shallow Summerfields pool against a much improved Hastings.
Now that we train at the all deep Splashpoint and play the vast
majority of our games in deep water pools, the occasional match
in a shallow pool offers a really different challenge.
We actually played well for long periods against a really
spirited Hastings team who knew how to exploit the conditions
but we scored some excellent goals to always lead. The game was
close until half time but we the second half saw us take control
and in the end this was a relatively comfortable win and we even
had the luxury of missing two penalties.
Scorers: Matt 5, Ben C 2, Richard 1, Toby 1.
Exclusions: Richard 2, Matt 1.
Squad in full: Ben Alcorn, Matt White, Ben Curtis, Jacob Nash,
Toby Underwood, Richard Hooper, Archy Burnell, Adrian Irbe,
Alastair Roberts.

Please come back to me if you should require any further
information,.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

20/6/2017

It took quite a while to organise but we finally
managed to play the first ladies game since we moved to
Splashpoint.
We had seen a steady increase in the number of girls playing
over the past couple of years and a large number of the juniors
have been selected to play for both Sussex and the South East
region.
We managed to field a full squad of 13 on Saturday and we
actually had a couple of girls who were unable to play. The
squad ranged in age from 11 to 22 which is a really young team
but all of the girls played well.
A quick report of the game is as follows:

This was really entertaining game between two well matched teams
and it was watched by one of the biggest crowds seen at
Splashpoint for a water polo match.
We took the lead when Daisy scored with an excellent shot from
distance but we missed on a number of occasions when we probably
should have scored.
The game was always close until the third period when the
opposition scored 4 times to take a 6-4 lead. The final quarter
was a really exciting affair and the Worthing squad played some
really good water polo in the period and led 8-7 when Anna
scored with only 55 seconds remaining. Unfortunately we were
unable to see the game out and the opposition equalised with 27
seconds left and we were unable to score a winning goal in the
final few seconds.
As previously mentioned, all of the squad contributed to the
overall performance but the younger girls were especially
impressive and Ruby, at 11 years of age, played really well.

Overall this was really exciting match and all of the squad
seemed to enjoy the opportunity of playing a home match. I'm
hoping that we might be able to organise the next one a little
bit quicker than this game!

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

15/5/2017

A very busy day for the Worthing water polo teams with
the men's squad in action at the South east regional
championships in Portsmouth and the under 15 team playing in the
London league at Haberdashers school in Elstree.
We also had our Midlands correspondent at work today with Joe
Hazeldine attending the British water polo league annual general
meeting in Birmingham.

This was a match that we eventually won fairly comfortably
against a talented Faversham team who were well organised and
always dangerous in attack.
We made a relatively slow start and a couple of debatable
decisions resulted in us being behind at the end of the first
quarter. We changed our defensive tactics and as a result we
started to dominate proceedings only conceding one goal in the
second and third periods.
Our attack was starting to produce goal scoring opportunities
and we always looked the better team. As a result we were able
to play all of the squad for reasonable periods which was a
great help because we faced the second match of the day only an
hour later.
Overall this was a satisfactory win when we probably hadn't been
at our best but we still thoroughly deserved the win.
Scorers: George 4, Joao 3, Toby 2, Peter 1, Ben Curtis 1,
Alastair 1.
Exclusions: Joao 2, Peter 1, Ben Curtis 1, Alastair 1, Archy 1,
Richard 1, Akos 1.

This was a much easier match against an Oxford team that worked
hard but struggled to compete with the quality of our play. Our
dominance was indicated by 11 of our squad of 12 scoring goals
during the match and we were always in control. We possibly
conceded a number of goals that probably should have been
avoided but once again all of the squad enjoyed a good amount of
water time and we were very clinical in taking a number of
chances that we created.
Scorers: George 5, Joao 5, Peter 4, Richard 2, Jacob 2, Ben
Curtis 2, Ben Alcorn 1, Archy 1, Toby 1, Adie 1, Alastair 1.

We hadn't played since the end of the national league season
back in March and we looked a little rusty, particularly at the
start of the Faversham match. We soon found our form and we were
good value for the two wins. All of the squad made good
contributions and it was good to see our three juniors play
well. Akos particularly did well and at 14 years of age he was
making his debut in this competition and he is the latest junior
to progress through the system to join the senior squad.

Our under 15 junior squad (2003 & younger) travelled to the
excellent new Haberdashers Pool at Elstree for the first
tournament in the London League. As a result of our excellent
third place finish in the winter competition we have been seeded
in the top division and we knew that we would face tough
matches. This proved to be the case with a 2-18 defeat by
Watford who are the favorites to take the title. The second
match was a much closer affair against Ealing and although this
ended in a 5-10 defeat all of the squad made good contributions.

Match report

We travelled to Gloucester for the final matches of the national
league season knowing that two wins would secure our place in
division 2 for next season.
Once again we were able to play with a full squad of thirteen
and having the strength on the bench has been one of the
positive aspects of the campaign.
The individual match reports are as follows:

This was a good win in a game that we dominated from the start.
We had made a decision to play with a high tempo, particularly
in defence, and we started really well making it very hard for
Birmingham to get into the game.
We probably played as well in the first quarter as we have all
season and 5-0 didn't really flatter us. We actually missed a
couple of other chances when we really should have scored but we
dominated the opposition and they really struggled to create
many clear chances. In the second and third periods we created
chance after chance but we contrived to miss on many occasions
and as a result Birmingham were still in the game. Our defending
was still of a high standard but a couple of lapses led to
Birmingham goals but we were never in any danger of losing the
match.
In the final quarter we dominated proceedings and we scored a
number of good goals, particularly on the counter attack.
Overall this was a satisfactory win when we played well for long
periods and the positive result was exactly what we needed.

Quite simply, one of the most dramatic matches that we have
played since we joined the British Water Polo League.
This was the last match of the Championship 2 season with both
teams needing a win. We needed the points to secure a place in
division 2 next season and the Welsh knew that the win would
give them the top spot in the Championship.
After a very positive pre-match meeting we developed a plan to
nullify the oppositions attacking game as well as create
opportunities in attack. From the outset our defending in
particular frustrated the Welsh and with Marc in good form in
goal we immediately looked capable of competing with an
obviously talented team.
It was inevitably a game of very tight margins but Joao scored 2
excellent early goals to give us the lead in the first quarter
and he scored again at the start of the second period. But it
became obvious that this was going to be a very close game with
two well matched teams giving everything to try and gain the
upper hand.
The game was tied at 4-4 at half-time and then again at 6-6 at
the end of the third quarter. The final quarter was a pulsating
affair with both teams starting to tire resulting in a number of
unforced errors. We fell behind at 6-7 and the Welsh scored
again to give them a two goal lead with just under 5 minutes
remaining. We re-grouped after taking a time out and Nathan
scored with an excellent finish on the counter attack and then
Richard leveled the score at 8-8 with a good finish on a man up
play. We took a second time out with just 90 seconds to play and
both teams had chances to win the game in final few moments.
In the end the game was drawn and both teams were disappointed
in the outcome and we will play in division 3 in the first phase
of next season by the narrowest of margins.
Although disappointed, every member of the squad gave everything
they possibly could in what was definitely our best performance
of the season and we should take a great deal of credit for the
way that we played.

Finally, we should thank the loyal band of supporters who have
followed the team throughout the season and also Roffey Homes
whose sponsorship makes our participation in this national
competition possible.

Regards,

Alastair

News

28/2/2017

Three Worthing juniors have recently been playing for the south
east in the under 18 (born 2000 & younger) inter regional
competitions.

Holly Stoner and Alice Mantle were part of the girls team that
secured a very creditable 3rd place finish in the girls
competition that was played in Blackpool last weekend.

Akos Hausknecht was the youngest member of the boy's squad (he
is 2 years younger than this age group) that played two weeks
ago at Watford.

All three played well and will undoubtedly benefit from having
been involved in these prestigious national competitions.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

14/2/2017

British Water Polo League Championship 2
Haberdashers School, Elstree
11th/12th February 2017

We travelled to the excellent new 25 metre all deep pool at
Haberdashers School having won 2 of the three matches that we
have played in this phase of the competition.
All of the squad realised that the two matches we were due to
play would be vital in our campaign to retain our place in
division 2 of the BWPL.

This was an exciting match that was never of great quality and
we missed the chance to secure at least a draw.
We started well and controlled the game and we really should
have led by more than a one goal margin at the end of the first
period. Unfortunately we didn't play as well in the second and
third quarters when we failed to take our chances while we
conceded a number of goals that we really should have avoided.
We started the final quarter 5-9 down but the team showed real
quality as we fought back to only a one goal deficit with around
90 seconds left. We then forced a turnover and the subsequent
counter attack saw the team win a penalty with about a minute to
play which was unfortunately missed. As time ran out we had
another opportunity but we failed to take the chance and as a
result we lost a game that we should have at least drawn and
possibly even have won.
Scorers: Matt 2, Peter 2, Richard 1, Joao 1, Joe 1, Ben 1.
Exclusions: George 3, Peter 1, Joao 1, Matt 1.

We knew that the south coast derby was destined to be a tough
affair and this turned out to be another close game that we did
well to finally win by the narrowest of margins.
Once again, if we had taken our chances we would have had a
relatively easy win, but we missed on several occasions when we
really should have scored and we also contrived to concede a
couple of really sloppy goals. That said, we always looked to be
in control and for long periods Southampton really struggled to
break down our disciplined zone defence with Marc making a
number of good saves when needed.
Ultimately this was a crucial win which we worked really hard to
secure. It wasn't always pretty, but it was a vital 2 points and
sometimes the result is far more important than the performance
and this was definitely one of those occasions.
Scorers: Matt 3, Joe 1, Richard 1, George 1.
Exclusions: Joe 2, Richard 1, Ben 1.

This was a tough weekend and the one win still gives us the
chance to remain in division 2 but we will probably have to win
the final two fixtures of the season that will be played at
Gloucester over the weekend of 11/12 March.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

We entered the under 14 London Winter League with a young team
that although lacking a great deal of experience is now
beginning to show a huge amount of potential.
The competition was split into 2 geographic divisions with the
top two from the north and south meeting in a "final four" play
off tournament.
We finished top of the southern group and we were joined by
Beckenham along with Watford and Chelmsford from the northern
division.
As a result we knew that we would play 3 very tough matches (we
had beaten and lost to Beckenham in the first phase) and this
proved to be the case in a very exciting evening at the Whitgift
School pool.

The results were as follows:

Match 1. Worthing 6, Chelmsford 7.
This was a really exciting match that ultimately we were unlucky
not to at least draw missing a couple of late chances. All of
the squad played well against a good team that always threatened
on the counter attack.
With better finishing we possibly could have even won the match
but it was still a very positive performance.

Match 2. Worthing 0, Watford 10.
The score doesn't quite fairly reflect the way that we played in
this match and although Watford were well worth the win, we
actually played well at times. Watford were the deserved winners
of the competition but we did frustrate them for periods and we
were unlucky not to score on a number of occasions.

Match 3. Worthing 6, Beckenham 4.
This was a really good finish to the day and we came from behind
with a really strong second half to secure a very well deserved
win. We played some really good water polo at times and we
scored a number of good goals, particularly when on the counter
attack. We defended really well and Beckenham became
increasingly frustrated trying to break down our high press.

Overall we were very pleased to secure a third place finish in
the competition and without doubt all of the squad have made
significant progress in the past few months. We hope to continue
this development and we have entered the London summer league
which is for the same age group.

Match report

25/1/2017

We travelled to Gloucester for the first matches in the second
phase of this years national league campaign and we faced a busy
weekend program with games on Saturday and one on the Sunday
morning. These are the individual match reports:

This was a very tough opening game against a Watford team that
now features a large number of talented overseas players. We
actually started quite well and the first quarter was a really
close affair with both teams struggling to create clear chances.
The game changed in the second period when we were punished for
a number of basic mistakes and Watford scored a number of goals
that we really should have avoided.
We kept going well and we did force the Watford defence into
committing a number of exclusion fouls but we didn't really take
full advantage of the opportunities.
In the end the final score was probably a fair reflection but we
knew that we had not been at our best which was the most
disappointing aspect of the defeat.
Scorers: Dave 1, Peter 1, Joe 1, Nathan 1, Matt 1, Ben 1.
Exclusions: Richard 2, Joao 2, Alastair 2, Jacob 1, Matt 1.

We needed a positive reaction after the Watford match and the
squad re-grouped and put together a much improved display
against Cambridge. It is never easy to play two matches with
only a short break between them but it was very encouraging that
we played with a high level of intensity throughout.
In the first quarter we were guilty of missing a number of
chances but our defending reduced the opposition to only a small
number of chances. As the match progressed we took control and
Cambridge didn't score until well into the third period of the
match. Matt had a fine game and scored 5 goals, mainly from
centre forward, and Cambridge really struggled to deal with our
attacking game.
We probably should have won this match by an even greater margin
but we were guilty of missing a number of opportunities that we
really should have scored. Even so, we very much deserved to
take the points and it was a really good to secure our first win
in the second phase of the competition.
Scorers: Matt 5, Joao 2, Ben 2, Joe 1, George 1, Richard 1,
Peter 1, Alastair 1.
Exclusions: Dave 2, Peter 2, George 1.

This was always going to be a tough match against an Ealing team
that features a number of talented players and who also play a
physical style of water polo. We had taken the time to watch
them play on the previous afternoon and it was obvious that we
would have to play well to record a win.
We actually made a really positive start to the match and our
driving game was soon bringing rewards with Ealing forced into
committing a number of exclusion fouls. Ben Curtis had an
outstanding first quarter scoring twice with two excellent
finishes and also creating a goal for Richard with a clever pass
on a man-up play.
Ealing always carried a threat in attack but our defence was
well organised and Marc came up with a number of good saves when
required.
The game was close throughout and although we led for long
periods, Ealing did equalise early in the final period but Peter
soon restored our lead and we went on to dominate the remainder
of the match. The win was secured when Ealing had a player
excluded for brutality with a couple of minutes left and we
played out time to secure a really important win.
This was very much a squad performance and everyone contributed
to a really good all-round display.
Scorers: Richard 4, Joe 3, Joao 2, Ben 2, George 1, Peter 1.
Exclusions: Joao 3, Nathan 3, Alastair 1, Peter 1, Ben 1.

Although we were disappointed to lose the Watford match, the two
wins were hard earned and much deserved. We improved game by
game and particularly in the Ealing match we started to exploit
a number of tactics that we have worked on in training.
We now have four matches remaining and two will be played at
Haberdashers School in Elstree in three weeks time before we
return to Gloucester in March for the final two fixtures.

Regards,

Alastair

Match report

20/12/2016

This is the final water polo match report of 2016.

London Winter League
Under 14 Championship (Born 2003 & younger)
Whitgift School, South Croydon
Sunday 18th December 2016

We travelled to the last water polo tournament of the year with
all of the squad looking forward to the chance to play matches
against Croydon and Beckenham.
It was decided that because of the young age of the teams
playing that the format would see each team playing each other
twice in matches of 7 minute halves.
With a squad of 10 we knew that we had the fitness and swimming
speed to exploit the opposition and all of our boys and girls
(with one exception) had benefitted from playing in the inter
regional competitions over the previous two weekends.
The individual reports were as follows:

Match 1. Worthing 6, Croydon 3.
We made a hesitant start and soon found ourselves 0-2 behind but
we soon turned this around and we eventually ran out comfortable
winners.
After the slow start our defending eventually started to
dominate the opposition and we scored on a number of counter
attacks.

Match 2. Worthing 4, Beckenham 3.
Another slow start again resulted in an early deficit but we
slowly turned the game round and a strong second half
performance saw the squad take control and eventually a deserved
win.

Match 3. Worthing 10, Croydon 4.
A dominant performance when our superior fitness and speed
exploited a tiring Croydon team.
Once again our high press defence created many opportunities
when we gained possession and we scored a number of good quality
goals.

Match 4. Worthing 12, Beckenham 4.
In the final match we were beginning to play some really
impressive water polo and Beckenham had no answer to our speed
on the counter attack.
We dominated the game from start to finish and the final score
was a fair reflection of how we had controlled the match.

This was an excellent event for the squad and it was obvious to
see the improvement that has been made in the short time since
the first tournament. As I previously mentioned, virtually all
of the boys and girls involved have trained and played with the
under 14 south east regional teams the previous weekends and the
it was easy to see how beneficial this has been.
The results have guaranteed that we will play in the top four
play off tournament that will be played at the end of January.

Finally, all of the squad made significant contributions in all
of the games and the goal scoring was shared around all of the
players.

Match report & news

The last Sussex league game of the year was an interesting
affair where we never really managed to play to our best.
That said, a predominantly youthful Crawley offered a decent
opposition and always made it difficult for us to control the
match.
After a cagey first period we played our best water polo of the
match during the second quarter when we scored a number of good
goals are our defending nullified the Crawley attack.
The second half of the match became increasingly scrappy but we
were always in control of the match and the final score was
probably a fair reflection of the difference between the teams.
It was good to see four juniors play in this match. Ben Curtis
has been involved with our senior squad for a while but he was
joined by Archy, Joe and Akos and all of them made significant
contributions.

2. Three Worthing junior girls will make their debut this coming
weekend for the South east squad that is playing in the ASA
national inter region under 14 competition at Walsall.
Caitlin Silk, Grace Byford and Ruby Rosser are all looking
forward to playing in this event and they will gain a great deal
of experience competing against girls from the other regions
from around the UK.
Ruby, at just over 11 years of age, becomes the youngest
Worthing member to have played in a regional competition.

3. Worthing will also be well represented in South east boys
squad that will play in the under 14 inter region competition
which is also being played Walsall over the weekend of 10/11
December.
Josh Coulson, Jamie Bond, Mattie Smith, Oli Hodges and Ben
Bolton have all worked hard to be selected for the regional team
and they are also looking forward to playing in this prestigious
event.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

12/12/2016

British Water Polo League Division 2
Sunday 20th November
National Pool, Swansea

Worthing 6, Croydon 6.
Quarter Scores: 1-1, 2-2, 1-1, 2-2.

This was not a classic, it was a slow and low intensity match
that just drifted along with neither team able to take the
initiative.
Croydon made it incredibly difficult for us throughout the whole
match not committing to attack for long periods to make sure
that we couldn't make any quick counter attacks. As a result the
match was low scoring with defences very much on top.
Marc did make a number of good saves and on some occasions we
came up with some good attacking play, but we were again guilty
of not taking our chances.
In a game of few highlights, Ben scored two fine goals to add to
the one from yesterday and he put in a fine all-round
performance. Our defending was always of a high standard but
this was not a match that will live long in the memory.
We now don't play again until mid January when the second phase
of the competition commences with the first tournament at
Gloucester.

Match report

12/12/2016

British Water Polo League Division 2
Saturday 19th November
National Pool, Swansea

Worthing 5, Sutton & Cheam 7.
Quarter Scores: 1-1, 3-3, 1-2, 0-1.

We made the long trip to West Wales to face another demanding
two game weekend, both against teams from South London. On
Sunday we face Croydon but the Saturday match was against a
talented Sutton team that now includes two new recruits who were
part of the 2012 GB Olympic team.
This was obviously going to be a very tough fixture, but we
discussed at length how we could best deal with the obvious
threat form the opposition with a disciplined defensive plan.
For long periods our defensive play worked really well and we
frustrated Sutton on many occasions forcing them to shoot from
distance when Marc made a number of excellent saves.
We were struggling in attack against a very physical and tight
defence but Philippe gave us the lead mid-way through the first
quarter. The two teams traded goals through the remainder of the
first half and the game was tied at 3-3 at the mid point.
We took the lead at the start of the first quarter when Ben
scored with an excellent finish on an extra man play but Sutton
scored twice and we started the final period 5-6 down.
The start of the final period proved to be crucial with our
defence working well and our counter-attack starting to cause
problems for Sutton. We missed a number of opportunities when we
probably should have scored and we really should have equalised
on more than one occasion. As time was running out Sutton scored
a late goal and this was very hard on us after such a brave
performance.
We don't like losing games but this really was a fine
performance for long periods and we made a talented team work
really hard to finally secure a victory.

I will forward the report from the Sunday match against Croydon
later tomorrow (Sunday).

Kind regards,

Alastair Roberts

Match report

14/11/2016

British Water Polo League Division 2.
Weekend 2
Gloucester, 29/30 October 2016

After two close and ultimately frustrating defeats at Sheffield
in the first matches of the 2016 national league campaign, we
travelled to Gloucester for a very busy three match weekend.
This format is always very demanding and all of the squad we
aware that we would be playing three very demanding games.
These are the individual match reports:

This was a good start to the weekend and we very much deserved
to win a match that we controlled for the majority of the time.
We made a good start and played particularly well in the first
two quarters building a 7-2 lead by half time. We didn't play
quite as well in the third and fourth periods but we managed the
game well and we eventually held on for a relatively comfortable
win. Joe and Matt led the scorers with 3 each but this was
really a good all round team performance where all of the squad
made a good contribution.
Scorers: Joe 3, Matt 3, George 1, Peter 1, Joao 1, Toby 1.
Exclusions: Joao 2, Joe 2, George 1, Peter 1, Jacob 1.

This was a very tough match against a well organised and
physical Welsh Wanderers team who are always a tough opposition.
The first quarter was a cagey affair without many clear cut
chances for either team and we were slightly unfortunate to be
1-2 behind at the end of the period. The match was really
decided in the second quarter when we made a number of unforced
errors which were punished by the opposition and as result we
trailed 2-7 at half time. We worked hard throughout the
remainder of the match but the damage had been done and we were
unable to force our way back into the game. We did work hard to
break down the opposition defence and we won a number of
exclusions but we didn't take enough of the opportunities that
we created.
Overall we didn't play that badly and our defending was of a
good standard for most of the match but we struggled in attack
against a press defence.
Scorers: Joe 3, Joao 2, Peter 1, Ben 1.
Exclusions: Peter 2, George 1, Richard 1, Joao 1, Nathan 1.

A similar match to the one the previous evening when we
struggled to deal with a very strong defence and failed to take
enough of the chances that we created.
We actually made a very positive start and we soon led 2-0 with
goals from Joe and Alastair but Northumbria got back into the
game and we trailed 2-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The second period proved to be decisive part of the match and we
made a number of errors in defence that were punished by the
opposition.
Out attack was struggling against a very physical opposition but
we were guilty of not taking some chances that we really should
have converted. To only score 4 goals throughout the match was
disappointing but we were very unlucky at times and we should
have scored more. Ben did come up with an excellent goal that
showed what was possible but this had proved to be a very tough
encounter.
Scorers: Joe 1, Joao 1, Alastair 1, Ben 1.
Exclusions: George 2, Dave 1, Peter 1.

Obviously 1 win and 2 defeats was not what we had hoped for from
the weekend at Gloucester but the two defeats were against good
quality opposition. The final first phase weekend is at Swansea
in three weeks time and we will play our final two fixtures.
The squad are determined to keep working hard and we hope that
we will record 2 positive results at Swansea.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

11/10/2016

This is the report of the first national league weekend of the
2016/2017 season.

Having finished that last national league campaign with our
highest ever finish we were looking forward to the new season
which started at possibly the best venue in the UK.
We travelled with a full squad of 13 players and we faced two
tough matches against talented opposition.
These are the individual match reports:

This was a remarkable match against a very talented team who we
all realised would be a very difficult opposition.
We started the game playing some quality water polo at a high
tempo that Poly struggled to cope with. As a result we raced
into a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and we soon
extended this to 5-0 early in the second period.
Unfortunately the game began to change as Poly began to take
control and we really struggled to defend against a well
organised team. We were also finding it difficult to create much
in attack but when we did we were guilty of missing a number of
chances. This was particularly true of a number of the "man up"
plays when Poly had a player excluded and we really should have
made more of the chances that came our way.
All of the squad and coaches were disappointed to lose this game
but we had shown enough early on to indicate that we are capable
of playing to really good standard. The challenge is to maintain
a high level of consistent play at this level.
Scorers: George 3, Joao 1, Ben 1, Matt 1.
Exclusions: George 2, Ben 2, Sam 1, Joao 1, Joe 1, Matt 1

The Sunday match was against a very strong Penguin team who now
feature a large number of talented foreign players who play a
physical game.
The game proved to be a pulsating affair when we were always
behind but came incredibly close to securing what would have
been a very well deserved draw.
Penguin always looked dangerous in attack and they now have a
number of excellent outside shooters who kept Marc in goal very
busy and he produced a number of quality saves that kept us in
the game.
In attack we always looked threatening and our quick counters
resulted in the opposition committing a high number of exclusion
fouls, Unfortunately, we carried on from the Saturday missing
far too many of the chances this presented.
We were never behind by more than two goals and at the start of
the final period we were trailing 6-8. Joe reduced the margin to
a single goal from a tight angle and then we were unfortunate to
concede another goal which restored Penguin's two goal
advantage.
In a thrilling climax to the game Joe scored again with just
over two minutes left from probably our best "man up" play of
the weekend. Penguin had a couple of opportunities but in the
final few seconds we managed to win the ball in the middle of
the pool and on the counter attack we really should have scored
to tie the game. Unfortunately we didn't convert the opportunity
and Penguin held on to win by the narrowest of margins.
Although this was a second defeat the squad should take a great
deal from the way that we came so close to a positive result
against a very talented opposition.
Scorers: Joao 2, Matt 2, Joe 2, Alastair 1, Richard 1.
Exclusions: George 1, Richard 1, Peter 1, Dave 1.

This was really tough weekend but we should take a number of
positives from the two matches. We know what we need to improve
on and we will be working hard over the next three weeks as we
build up to the next matches that will be played at Gloucester.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

11/10/2016

Worthing Under 13 ( 2003) Water Polo

On Sunday 9th October 2006 the following players represented
Worthing in the London League 2003 and younger Water Polo
competition at Whitgift School , Croydon:

With the withdrawal of Bexley WP on the day of the competition
Worthing had to play 2 full length back to back games against
the more experienced teams from Beckenham and Croydon. For 5 of
the Worthing team - this was their first competitive game.

Worthing - v - Beckenham lost 8 - 10

Beckenham were unable to cope with the tight press defence from
Worthing and quick counter attack in the first 2 quarters of the
game and Worthing were 5 - 4 up at the half way point. Josh took
responsibility for tight marking of the Beckenham pit attacker.
Owen made a string of excellent saves, and Matty and Ben worked
tirelessly up and down the wings.
At half time, Beckenham changed to marking Jamie with 2 players
in the second half, this slowed Worthing's pace of attack. In
the end, Worthing were unlucky to lose by 2 goals, having
unfortunately missed a few scoring opportunities in the 2nd
half.

Scorers: Jamie - 5, James - 2, Josh - 1.
Majors : Jamie - 2, Tom -1.

Worthing -v- Croydon won 6-5

Whilst everyone had the opportunity to play in the first game,
in this game all the 'new ' players really showed the skills
they have picked up in training. Ollie won 2 out of the 3 swim
offs he went for and he, Catlin and Grace worked hard to move
from defence to attack and were unlucky not to score their first
goals having got into shooting positions. Josh was a rock again
in defence, his uncompromising style meant that he had collected
3 majors by half time. Matty took over , marking the pit
attacker. Ben took over responsibility for taking the ball from
defence to attack. With Jamie being tightly marked, often by
more than 1 player, James and Tom took scoring opportunities by
well placed shots from the ark. Ruby marked players obviously
much older and bigger , by keeping excellent body positioning so
to get early tackles in. The final score slightly flattered
Croydon as Jamie and Owen, conspired to score a goal for the
opposition just before the end.

Scorers: James - 3, Jamie - 2, Tom- 1.

Majors: Josh - 3, Matty -1, Ruby - 1.

All in all, a very successful afternoon of water polo for
Worthing. At the Team meeting, each player was given a role and
without exception they all worked hard to defend hard and play a
quick counterattacking game.

This team play again on the 18th December and it is anticipated
that most of the players will get the opportunity of
representing SE at the Inter Regional tournaments in early
December.

Steve Bond

Match report

19/7/2016

Just a quick report on the 2001 age group boys inter regional
championship that was played at Millfield school last weekend.
The South east region team featured Worthing members Joe
Brennand, Akos Hausknecht and Josh Coulson.
The team eventually finished 9th out of a full complement of 11
teams that entered and they had a good win against the North
west Ravens and a very creditable draw against Scotland.

The attached picture of the squad includes Akos (2nd from the
left in the front row), Josh (3rd from the left in the front
row) and Joe (centre of the back row).

Match report

27/6/2016

The following is a report of yesterdays water polo matches at
Splashpoint.

South East Region Men's Water Polo Championship
Saturday 25th June 2016
Splashpoint, Worthing.

Having won both of the first two matches in this championship at
the end of May at Portsmouth, we were looking forward to playing
the remaining two fixtures at our home pool. The following are
the individual match reports:

This was a relatively easy win against a very young Crawley team
who put up a brave performance but were ultimately well beaten.
We played well in the first quarter of the match and it was
obvious that Crawley would not cause us too many problems and we
were particularly effective on the counter attack. All of the
squad had a good amount of water time and 9 of the squad of 12
were on the score sheet with Joao and Joe leading the scorers
with 6 each.
It was a satisfactory win that hopefully would act a good warm
up for the match later in day against Southampton.
Scorers: Joe 6, Joao 6, Alastair 4, George 3, Ben C 2, Ben A 2,
Richard 1, Matt 1, Sam 1.
Exclusions: George 3, Ben A 1, Adrian 1, Richard 1, Ben C 1, Joe
1, Robbie 1, Jack 1.

This was an exciting match to conclude the competition with the
two outstanding teams playing in front of a large and
enthusiastic crowd.
Southampton are a vastly improved team and have benefitted
greatly from playing in third division of the national league.
We made a strong start and soon led 2-0 after George scored from
a man up attack and Ben Curtis took his chance on a quick
counter attack.
Southampton were always causing us problems in attack and at the
end of the first period we led 5-3. The second quarter really
changed the game and we played some quality water polo scoring a
number of excellent goals and at the half time break we led
10-5.
In comparison, the second half of the match was relatively dull
with both teams tiring but we still controlled most aspects of
the game, Ben made a number of good saves but our lead was never
seriously threatened and we eventually secured a good win.
All of the squad put in good performances and the final score
was a fair reflection of our dominance but we know that we can
play better having missed a number of chances, as well as
conceding a number of goals that we really should have avoided.
Scorers: George 3, Ben C 3, Matt 3, Joe 2, Sam 1, Joao 1, Robbie
1.
Exclusions: Richard 3, Jack 3, Matt 2, Sam 1, Joe 1.

Overall this was a successful and satisfactory defence of the
South East regional title that we have held for the past few
years. We played well at times but we will need to work on a
number of things, not least our fitness levels, as we build up
to the national league campaign that starts at the end of
September.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

We travelled to Hastings with a seriously depleted squad with
exams, holidays and work commitments resulting in a number of
our players not being available.
Hastings is the furthest trip that we make in the county league
and the small, shallow pool is always a challenge for us. This
has now been exacerbated by a recent facelift with the
introduction of new lighting. The only problem with this is that
it is so dark it makes it impossible to see what is going on in
the gloom.
We actually played quite well at times in the match and we
scored a number of excellent goals, particularly with a number
of excellent outside shots. Joe was particularly prolific
scoring 8 times and he was well supported by Alastair who scored
5 and Richard who netted on 4 occasions.
The longer the match went on the more we dominated proceedings
and the final quarter saw the opposition tire and we scored 7
times while conceding only once.

Overall this was a satisfactory win which the quality of our
play very much deserved.

This was not a great advert for water polo as a result of the
shallow and now badly lit Prince Regent pool. With most players
able to stand in virtually all areas of the pool the match was
never going to easy to referee and Brighton seemed intent on
challenging seemingly every decision. Brighton had a player
dismissed for a clear act of brutality but we didn't really take
enough advantage of playing with an extra man for 4 minutes.
Overall we controlled the match and our defensive play stopped
the opposition form creating many chances. When they did, Ben
was his normal reliable self in goal. We possibly should have
scored more but we were happy to take the win and move on. The
only downside was an injury to Joe late on in the game which
would rule him out for the games at the weekend.
Scorers: Peter 3, Richard 3, Matt 2, Ben C 2, Jacob 1, Archy 1
Exclusions: Richard 1, Peter 1, Adrian 1, Joe 1, Jacob 1
Squad in full: Ben Alcorn, Matt White, Richard Hooper, Peter
Benedek, Adrian Irbe, Joe Hazeldine, Ben Curtis, Jacob Nash &
Archy Burnell.

We travelled to Portsmouth with a strong squad of 12 but missing
Joe who had sustained the injury on Friday in the Brighton
match.
The match against Basingstoke was a relatively easy win and our
combination of a press defence and a direct counter attack was
always too much for the opposition.
Ben and Marc shared the goalkeeping and both put in good
performances when playing out on the pitch.
All of the squad played a good amount in this win which gave us
a chance to work on the number of things that we have practiced
in recent training sessions.
Scorers: Peter 8, George 4, Ben C 4, Alastair 3, Richard 2, Matt
2, Adrian 1, Jacob 1, Marc 1.
Exclusions: Matt 2, Sam 1, Peter 1, Adrian 1, Jacob 1, Marc 1.

Because of the late withdrawal by Crawley we had two play the
two full matches with only a half hour break between them and
that is always a demanding proposition.
We tried to change our defensive shape at the start of the match
and although this was fairly successful in the first quarter we
struggled badly in the second period and as a result we trailed
by a couple of goals at half time. We then reverted to the
tactic that had worked well in the Basingstoke game and as a
result we totally dominated the third quarter.
We were not helped by the loss of Alastair who received an
accidental bang to the head and as a result missed over half of
the game. He also ended up in A & E where he was treated for the
concussion that he had suffered.
Our third quarter dominance took the game away from Oxford and
we controlled the final period and as a result secured a
satisfactory if unspectacular win.
This was a tough game and Oxford were a well organised and hard
working opposition who pushed us hard but ultimately we were
well worth our second win of the day.
Scorers: George 6, Matt 5, Peter 3, Richard 2
Exclusions: George 2, Matt 2, Sam 1, Arian 1, Ben 1.

The two wins at Portsmouth were well deserved and set us up for
the two remaining fixtures which will be played at Splashpoint
on Saturday 25th June. This should be an exciting proposition
and we would encourage as many people as possible to come along
and support the team.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

21/4/2016

The following is a quick report on the much delayed 2015 Sussex
senior knock out final that was played at Splashpoint last
Wednesday.

Worthing 22, Brighton 6 + 2 handicap = 8.
Quarter scores:

This was a satisfactory win in a match that we dominated
throughout but became an increasingly bad tempered affair.
Brighton struggled to create many chances against our well
organised defending and we always looked dangerous on the
counter attack.
The small number of chances that they did create were mainly
well dealt with by Ben in goal but we were always in control.
The final score was probably a fair reflection of the difference
between the teams and as a result we successfully retained the
trophy.

Sussex Girls Report

20/4/2016

Just a quick note on the recent Sussex girls under 19 squad who
won the London/SE regional championship with a 9-2 win against
Kent at Swanley last Saturday.

The squad of 11 featured 6 girls who are Worthing members and
train in our sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Sussex controlled the match throughout and always looked the
dominant team and probably should have won by a greater margin.
All of the Worthing girls made a significant contribution and
Daisy and Lara both scored twice.

In the attached picture Gemma Coulson in in the back row on the
right hand side. The middle row features Annah Bowles, Daisy
Hazeldine and Alice Mantle (L-R) to the right of the picture.
Abby-Lou Rocky and Lara Partridge are at the front.

Joe's selection for the GB junior water polo team

Article regarding Joe's selection for the GB junior water polo
team which will play in the European qualifiers from the ASA
website.

We are all delighted that Joe has been selected but it is very
much deserved because he has been working incredibly hard over
the past few months.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

---- from ASA website ----

Squad selected for men’s U19 European Junior Champs qualifiers

A squad of 15 English players has been named as the British team
travelling to Turkey for the Men’s European U19 Water Polo
Championships 2016 qualification tournament.

Taking place from 4 – 8 May, the event will see Great Britain
aiming to finish in the top two in their group to qualify for
the finals in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands from 11 – 18
September.

The Brits have been draw in Group B of the Men’s European U19
Water Polo Championships 2016 qualification stage, and will take
on Montenegro, Israel, Belgium and hosts Turkey in Istanbul.

The squad includes City of Manchester goalkeeper Dylan Green,
who was namedEngland Water Polo Athlete of the Year in 2015, as
well as six members of last year’sEnglish Schools’ Swimming
Association (ESSA) team.

Speaking after the squad announcement, U19 head coach Tim
Dunsbee said: “This section was very difficult as all our under
19 players have been working very hard and there is a real unity
between them.

“Our final preparations are well underway with four further
training events prior to the qualification tournament, including
our pre-tournament camp in Malta.”

TEAM SELECTED FOR MEN’S EUROPEAN U19 WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS
2016 QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT:

News

Just a quick message regarding the 1999 age group ASA
inter-regional competitions that were played last weekend.

The girls tournament was played at the new Northampton school
pool and the South East team featured Worthing members Annah
Bowles, Alice Mantle and Charlie Bond.

The boys made the long trip to the Manchester aquatic centre and
and the South East team featured Worthing's Ben Curtis, who was
named the squads MVP, and Archy Burnell. The boy's were coached
by Ben Alcorn.
I have attached a squad
picture and Ben Curtis is in the front row 3rd from the left
and Archy is next to him 4th from the left.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

3/2/2016

This is the final report of the 20115-2016 British Water Polo
League season.

BWPL Championship 2
30th/31st January 2016
National Pool, Swansea.

After a very demanding series of 11 matches we travelled to
Swansea to play the final 3 fixtures in our national league
campaign.
We a place in the second division already guaranteed for next
season we were looking forward to playing three very tough
matches over the weekend.
All season we have been able to play with a full squad of
thirteen players and we actually took 14 to Swansea with three
of the squad playing two of the three matches.
These are the individual match reports:

Sheffield are a talented team who started this season in
division 1 and they feature ex-Worthing junior Joel Abbott who
played against younger brother Sam in this match.
We knew that this would be a tough game against a well organised
opposition and although we didn't play that badly we finished
the first quarter 1-5.
Although we never looked in a position to win the game we kept
going well and the the final score was probably a slightly harsh
reflection of how we had played.
We struggled a little in attack and we did miss a few chances
that we probably should have taken but the performance was no
disaster and we could take a number of positives from the way we
played.

This was an exciting match against a Poly team who had only
beaten us 5-4 in our previous meeting in Sheffield back in
September.
We made an excellent start and soon led 2-0 after excellent
goals from Joe and Peter. We switched off a little in the second
period and our normally reliable defending wasn't up to it's
normally high standard and this allowed Poly back into the game.
At the start of the final period we trailed 3-6 but we scored
twice at the start of the quarter and at 5-6 we looked like the
team who had the momentum. Poly scored next to make it 5-7 but
Alastair scored from an excellently worked man-up to cut the
deficit to one goal. In a really exciting climax we had a number
of opportunities to equalise but we didn't take our chances and
then Poly restored the two goal margin. George scored to make
the score 7-8 and we again had chances to equalise but we were
finally undone by a defensive mix up that resulted in Poly
scoring a late penalty.

This was a terrific game to finish the BWPL season and we played
with a really high tempo throughout which always caused Croydon
problems. Our attacking play was much better and we scored a
number of excellent goals both on the counter attack and from
set attacking positions. Our swimming game always made it
difficult for the opposition and we always felt that our fitness
and strength on the bench would give us an advantage over all of
the match.
Our defending was not quite at it's best and we were slightly
disappointed to concede 13 goals but one of these was in the lat
second of the match and by then the points had been secured.
All the squad put in strong performances and Joao and Joe led
the scoring but the win again highlighted the importance of
having a full bench who are all able to come in and make
significant contributions.

We never like losing games but overall this was another good
weekend for us. The win against Croydon has secured a 6th place
finish in Championship 1 and as a result we are now ranked as
the 11th best team in the country. This is a remarkable
achievement for a team that plays prominently in the Sussex
league but all of the squad realise that with hard work we still
can make further improvement. We have an excellent combination
of experienced players and some talented juniors and we will be
looking to make a further improvement in the next BWPL campaign.
Finally, we owe a vote of thanks to the loyal bunch of parents
and supporters who have followed us around the country during
the past few months and also to Roffey Homes who are our
principal sponsor.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

14/1/2016

The following is a report of the latest BWPL weekend.

British Water Polo League
Championship 1
Salt Ayre, Lancaster, 9/10 January 2016

We made the long journey north to Lancaster for the second time
this season to play the latest round of matches in our British
water polo league campaign.
Having qualified for championship 1 after a very successful
first phase of the season we are playing quality teams in every
game and at Lancaster we faced fixtures against Northumbria and
Solihull.
These are the individual match reports:

This was a pulsating match when we came from behind to record an
excellent win.
Northumbria are one of the 3 first division teams in
Championship 1 and we realised that we would be in for a very
tough match against a talented opposition.
We had discussed at the pre-match meeting how we wanted to play
and how important it was that we made a good start in the match.
We actually did start positively and we were unfortunate to be
0-2 behind at the end of the first quarter. Our attacking play
was struggling against a well organised defence but we did
create a number of opportunities but we missed on a few
occasions when we probably should have scored.
As the match went on we started to gain a degree of control and
by the end of the third quarter we had drawn level at 5-5.
The final quarter was a roller coaster and we soon fell behind
again at the start of the period but Richard soon equalised.
With just over 4 minutes left Matt scored to give us the lead
for the first time in the match and we looked fairly comfortable
in defence but unfortunately we conceded an equaliser with 40
seconds left. In a frantic finish Northumbria had a player
excluded with 19 seconds left and 7 seconds later Richard scored
with an excellent finish to give us the lead again.
The drama wasn't quite over and in the remaining few seconds Joe
was harshly excluded and with the last shot of the match
Northumbria hit the post when they probably should have scored.
This was an excellent win against a team that started this
season in division 1 and it indicates the progress that the
squad has made

After the excitement of the match on the Saturday it was always
going to be tough to raise our game early on Sunday morning
against a talented and physical Solihull team.
This was exactly how it proved to be and we struggled to get
going form the start of the match. We didn't play badly but we
were never at our best and we were also unlucky to lose Joao at
half time for a technical offence. Our defending was reasonably
good and we frustrated the opposition on many occasions by
stopping service to the centre forward. Unfortunately we were
mainly struggling in attack where the tough defending from the
opposition was proving really difficult to break down. We also
were well below par when playing "man up" when Solihull had
players excluded and we wasted most of the opportunities that we
were presented with.
The final score is possibly a little harsh but we hadn't been at
our best and we never really did enough to secure a positive
result. That said, this was another tough match that will
definitely help with our development as we move forward.

Overall this was another good weekend for the squad and although
we never like to lose matches we can take a great deal of credit
from how we played. The 600 mile round trip makes it a long way
to play two matches but we played with a full squad and we
received excellent support form the large number of friends and
family who travelled to support the team.
We finish our BWPL season with a busy three match program in
Swansea in three weeks time and we hope to continue the
development that the squad is undoubtedly making.

Kind regards,

Alastair

Worthing Boys in inter county tournament

19/12/2015

I thought that we should give a mention on the website(s) to the
Worthing boys who recently played for Sussex in the under 14
inter county tournament at Whitgift School.
Akos Hausnecht, Josh Coulson, Jamie Bond, Matty Smith and Ben
Bolton played for Sussex as part of a very young squad who will
undoubtedly have gained a great deal from the experience.
I have attached a picture of the full squad.

Photo of BWL Championships 1 weekend at Guildford

Match report

7/12/2015

This is the report of the 4th weekend of the 2015/2016 British
Water Polo League season.

Having enjoyed a very successful first phase of the competition
playing for the first time in the clubs history in division 2,
we travelled to Guildford for the first matches in the second
half of the season.
The team are now playing in "Championship 1" which consists of
the top five teams from division 2 being joined by the bottom 3
from the top division. As a result we realized that we would
face some very tough games but all of the squad were really
looking forward to the challenge.
We were also very much looking forward to playing at the Surrey
Sport Part complex which is the nearest venue that we have ever
appeared at since we joined the BWPL. These are the individual
match reports:

Caledonia are one of the first division teams that are now part
of the second phase and I think that everyone realised that this
game would be a real challenge.
We started the game well and took the lead early on but the
first quarter saw the teams trading goals with Caledonia taking
the lead just before the end of the period. Our normally
reliable defence was being put under great pressure and we were
finding the speed of the Caledonia counter attack a constant
threat, but we did carry a real threat in attacking positions.
The second quarter was another close affair but we were
beginning to miss a number of chances that we really should have
converted and this added to Caledonia's attacking play meant
that we were under increasing pressure.
The second half of the match followed the same pattern and we
were particularly wasteful at the start of the third quarter
when we squandered several chances to get back into the match.
It was disappointing to lose the match but everyone recognised
that we had played a decent team who are very fit and well
organised. The final score was perhaps a slightly harsh
reflection on our efforts but the squad realised that against
better opposition you need to take your chances and also cut out
a number of the unforced errors that we made.

This was a really disappointing defeat which was down to a very
poor first quarter which ended 0-5. It is little consolation
knowing that we won the remainder of the match 10-6.
It's hard to know why we were so poor in the first period when
we seemingly had forgotten our tactical plan and as a result
gifted the opposition a number of "cheap" goals. Slowly but
surely we began to play something like our normal standard and
we kept chipping away at the deficit and we had a chance to
score just before the end of the third period when the Welsh
goalkeeper made a good save. Unfortunately the officials gave a
goal throw and we conceded a controversial goal just before the
period finished. Even though we we were 5 goals behind the team
produced a fantastic effort to score 4 times without reply and
we thought we had a chance to equalise after a time out with 20
seconds left. Unfortunately we didn't take the opportunity and
as a result we lost by the narrowest margin.
All of the squad were annoyed that the poor first quarter
display had cost us so dearly, but hopefully this will be
another lesson learned.

Two defeats was obviously a disappointing return form the
weekend but we will hopefully have learned some important
lessons from both of the games. We knew that this phase of the
competition was going to be challenging and none of the matches
will be easy but at times we played a good standard and we had a
number of encouraging individual performances.
We will make the long journey back to Lancaster early in January
for the the next two matches and hopefully the experience gained
this weekend will result in improved performances.
Finally, the two matches at Guildford were the final appearances
for Shaun Hotchkiss before he returns to New Zealand and he has
been a valuable member of the squad for the past two seasons.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

We made the long 600 + mile journey to Lancaster to play the
final two fixtures in the first phase of the 2015 British Water
Polo league second division.
Having won three of the first five matches we knew that one
further win would secure a top five finish in the first phase
and with it the opportunity to play in Championship 1 in the
second phase of the competition.
We faced tough games against Welsh Wanderers and Sutton & Cheam
who both also had a chance of a top 5 finish and this would
result in two very competitive matches.
Once again we were able to field a full squad of 13 which has
proved to be a crucial part of playing in the full size 30 metre
playing area.
These are the individual match reports:

We fell behind early on but we soon equalised and by the end of
the first period we had built a 3-1 lead. By halftime we had
extended the advantage to 6-2 and we were in control of the
match.
The success was structured around a very disciplined defence
which we had developed to deal with the outstanding Welsh
forward player. The tactic worked well for long periods and all
of the squad worked hard to deny the opposition many chances to
score.
Our attacking play was of a good standard and Shaun had a
particularly productive match scoring 5 times but all of the
squad worked hard to create the opportunities.
This was a match that we controlled well and it was good to see
Ben Curtis score his first national league goal after a swift
counter attack.
Overall this was good win that confirmed our top five finish
which was an excellent achievement with 1 match remaining.

The match against Sutton was always going to be a tough affair
with the opposition needing a win to make the top 5 and this
definitely proved to be the case.
It was a tight match with the defences generally on top and once
again our zonal system frustrated the opposition for long
periods. Marc was as reliable as ever in goal making a number of
saves but we limited the number of opportunities that Sutton
created.
We never played at our best in attack and we struggled to break
down a very physical Sutton defence but we really should have
made more of the opportunities that we created. The match
reached an exciting climax in the final quarter and Tom scored a
good goal to extend our lead to 6-4 with just over two minutes
remaining but Sutton soon scored to reduce the deficit. We
defended well for the remaining time and we secured a very hard
fought victory.

This was another good weekend for us and we should be very
pleased that we have finished in 3rd position in the first
phase. We now look forward to playing in Championship where we
play against the other 4 qualifiers from division 2 along with
the bottom 3 from division 1.
Lancaster is a long way to travel but as previously mentioned we
had a full squad of 13 and we also had a large number of friends
and family who offered great support.
We will start the Championship 1 campaign over the weekend of
5th/6th December at Guildford which we be the closest venue that
we have played at since our entry into the national league and
we are hoping that we will again have a large number of
supporters.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

We travelled to K2 for the second time in two weeks having won
the league match on the previous visit.
On this occasion the match was in the county knock-out
competition which has a handicap based on the previous seasons
league positions.
The four goal handicap could have made the match fairly awkward,
but we put on a dominant display in the first quarter and as a
result we only trailed by one goal.
Our defence frustrated the opposition for long periods and we
only allowed Crawley to create a small number of chances. When
called upon, Ben made a number of good saves but the opposition
never came to terms with our defensive tactics.
In attack we always looked dangerous and we probably should have
scored more goals, but we missed a number of fairly simple
chances. Our counter attack always caused Crawley problems and
they struggled to deal with the speed and directness of our
play.
This was a satisfactory win for the squad and we make the long
trip to Lancaster this weekend for the next round of matches in
division 2 of the British Water Polo League.

Match report

26/10/2015

This is a quick report on the latest match of the 2015 Sussex
county league season.
Unfortunately the match sheet was not available after the game
so the following is from memory and lacks the normal detail!

Our final fixture of the 2015 county league championship was
potentially a difficult match away at the K2 leisure centre in
Crawley.

The home team have improved over the years and although we were
missing a number of squad members we put on a commanding
performance to secure a comfortable win.

We dominated at the start of the match and Ziggy scored the
opening goal with only a few seconds played. By the end of the
first quarter we led 6-0 and the match was never in doubt from
that point. It was 11-0 at half time and we relaxed in the
second half and as a result conceded a number of scrappy goals.

This win completed a 100% record in the county league and as a
result we have retained the league title for another year.

Match report

12/10/2015

This is the report from the second weekend of the 2015/2016 BWPL
season.

The squad travelled to the Hengrove Leisure Centre in Bristol
for the second weekend in division 2 of the British water polo
league.
Having won and lost 1 match at the first event we realised that
the 3 game program at Bristol would be hugely significant in how
our season develops.
We were pleased to travel with a full squad of 13 players which
is so important when you are playing in the full sized 30 metre
playing area, and our ability to utilize fresh players from the
bench is proving to be a significant advantage.

A disappointing way to start the weekend and although we
defended well for most of the game we really struggled to create
many chances against a very well organised and physical
opposition.
We played pretty well in the first two quarters but our
inability to develop the attacking aspect of our game meant that
we never really looked like taking something from this match.
Unfortunately when we did make an opportunity to score we often
found the Solihull goalkeeper in good form and to have any
chance of taking something from this match we needed to be more
clinical in front of goal.

No one likes playing in the early start time on a Sunday morning
but we knew that our game against Manchester Hawks was a match
that we really needed to win.
The Hawks are a young and very fit team and we realised that we
would need to impose our game plan to hopefully secure a win.
Our change of tactics proved to be decisive, and our pressing
game completely dominated the opposition limiting them to a
relatively small number of chances.
Our counter attack always posed a threat and a very strong first
quarter set the tone for the remainder of the match.
The final score indicated how well we had played and we all
realised how important it was to secure the win.

We finished the weekend with an excellent win against a talented
Croydon team which is definitely one our best performances in
the BWPL.
We made another tactical change to try and stop the Croydon
centre forward and all of the team worked incredibly hard to
limit the influence he would have on the game.
The plan worked really well and we were again fortunate to have
a 13 man squad which allowed us to play at a high tempo which
Croydon found very hard to deal with.
The team also worked hard to create chances to score but we
always looked the fitter team and as a result we carried a
threat on the counter attack. We scored some really good goals
but our defending was probably the crucial factor in such a
crucial win. Marc was as reliable as ever in goal making good
saves including an excellent penalty save.
This was a really good win for the squad, particularly taking
into consideration that we had only had a two and a half hour
break between the matches.

Overall, we have to be pleased with two wins from the weekend at
Bristol which should help us to maintain our position in the
second tier of the BWPL. We have a nice balance in the squad of
youth and experience and everyone is prepared to get in and work
really hard for the team. As I mentioned in the report, we are
also benefitting from having a full squad of thirteen at most
matches and this gives us the opportunity to make regular
substitutions with "fresh" players during each game.
The third tournament in the first phase of the season will see
the squad make the very long journey north to Lancaster on the
weekend of 7th/8th November.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

29/9/2015

Having secured promotion to division 2 of the BWPL at the final
tournament last season, we were looking forward to our first
ever matches at this level.
We travelled to the familiar surroundings of Ponds Forge in
Sheffield for the first round of fixtures and we were also
looking forward to playing for the first time in the full sized
30 metre playing area.
These are the individual match reports:

As the score suggests, this was a tight match when both defences
were on top but we always looked in control after we took a 2-0
lead in the first quarter.
Penguin are now a relatively young team and we were well aware
of the swimming ability that they may contain on the counter
attack, but we dealt well with this throughout the match.
We employed a zone defence throughout which frustrated the
opposition for long periods and forced them to regularly shoot
from distance, and the ever reliable Marc in goal dealt
comfortably with most of the efforts. Our attacking play was not
at it's sharpest but we still created enough good opportunities
to win the match but all of the squad realise that we need to
score more goals.
The game reached an exciting conclusion with both teams taking
time outs in the final few minutes but we held a two goal
advantage until 1 second from time when Penguin scored a late
consolation. Fortunately we hade done enough to secure our first
win in division 2.

This was another really close game against one of the
traditional "big" clubs in UK water polo who were only relegated
from division 1 earlier this year and who recently played in the
top 8 British Championships. We knew that this would be a tough
game, but the squad put together a terrific performance and were
ultimately very unlucky not to take something from the game. We
frustrated Poly for log periods and Marc was again in fine form
behind a well organised defence that played with great
discipline.
Once again we struggled to create enough chances in attack but
we did miss on a number of occasions when we really should have
made more of the opportunities.
The match again had an exciting finish and although we trailed
5-3 at one point Richard scored with a well taken penalty that
set up a very exciting finish. At only 1 goal behind and with 2
minutes left to play we defended the next Poly attack superbly
and we called a timeout when we gained possession. We knew that
the next attack would be crucial and we were denied the chance
to equalise by a contentious refereeing decision that denied us
a chance to score. Poly held on in the last few seconds and we
were denied a positive result but the manner of the performance
indicated that we should be competitive at this level.

This was a good weekend for the team and it has given us a
really good indication of what we can expect in division 2. We
coped fairly well with the larger playing area but we will
undoutabley improve as we play more matches in the coming weeks.
The next BWPL weekend takes place at the Hengrove 50 metre pool
in Bristol in two weeks time and we face a really busy program
of three matches in the two days. We hope that we will be able
to play with a strong team at what will obviously be a pivotal
weekend.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Worthing Juniors in the "Olympic hopefuls"
tournament

3/8/2015

Four Worthing Juniors have just spent the past few days
in Sventes in Hungary playing in the annual "Olympic hopefuls"
tournament.
Ben Curtis, Toby Underwood, Tom Kane and Joe Hazeldine were part
of the Crystal Palace regional training centre team that took
part in the event playing against teams from the home country
and around Europe.
All the boys will have benefited a great deal from having played
in this prestigious event and Ben Curtis had a particularly
memorable tournament being named the teams most valuable player.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Joe Hazeldine on international Duty

21/7/2015

Joe is currently on international duty playing for England
schools in Malta.

This is basically a 1997 age group GB squad and the team has
won the first three fixtures and now face Malta in the final on
Tuesday afternoon.

Joe was man of the match against South Africa and I have
attached a review from the ASA website

With the South-east region tournament at Splashpoint due to be
played the following day, the away match at Brighton on the
Friday evening acts as a useful warm-up.
As always, the shallow Prince Regent pool is a great leveler,
and the home team are obviously a lot more experienced at
playing in this very different environment. As a result we
struggled at times, but we still controlled the great majority
of the match and we deserved to be comfortable winners.
We actually made a very good start to the match and our
defensive tactics reduced the home team to mainly shooting from
distance. We always posed a threat in attack and we led 4-1 at
the end of the period.
The second period was a fractious affair with too many
exclusions and Joe was very unlucky to be excluded for the rest
of the match. Brighton may have sensed a possible comeback but
in the second half we took control again and scored some
excellent goals. Shaun was in particularly good form scoring 8
but Richard and Joao scored hat-tricks with Joe getting the
other two.
Overall this was a satisfactory win against a very enthusiastic
and physically strong opposition but the final score gave a
reflection of how we had dominated the match.

This was an easy win against a depleted Basingstoke who started
the match well taking the lead, but tired badly as the game went
on.
We played well throughout and the speed of our counter-attack
particularly caused the opposition problems. Nine of our squad
scored during match and Shaun was again in good form helping
himself to 9 goals.
All of the squad for this match (we were missing Joao and Peter)
had a good amount of water time and it was particularly good to
see all of the juniors on the score sheet.

This was tough, physical match against a much improved
Southampton team who are a real test when we play them.
With Peter and Joao now both in the squad we were back to
something nearer a full strength team and we also had our BWPL
goalkeeper Marc Guimera making an appearance.
This gave Ben Alcorn the chance to play outfield for a change
and he helped himself to one very good goal.
We made an excellent start to the match and we scored 6
excellent goals, the majority from powerful and accurate shots
from distance. The match gave us an opportunity to put into
practice a number of the things that we have been working on in
training recently and it was interesting to see how this worked
out.
Overall we played well enough to win this match, but we will
still need work hard on various aspects of our play which will
hopefully see the squad continue to improve.

It was a good two days with 3 wins and all of the squad members
who played made significant contributions.
We hosted the tournament on Saturday which ran without a
problem, and our hard-working team of table officials also
helped make the day a success.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

This was a match that was never pretty to watch with both teams
struggling to come to terms with the shallow pool, but we
recorded a comfortable and satisfactory win.
Since Splashpoint opened two years ago our appearances in
deep/shallow pools are becoming increasingly rare, and for a
number of the squad this was the first time they had played a
competitive match in this type of pool. As a result, the match
was a very scrappy affair but we were always the dominant team
and we eased to a comfortable win.
Shaun was particularly prolific, scoring 4 goals in quick
succession in the first quarter and eventually 9 overall in the
match.
Our squad of 10 included 3 juniors and Ben Curtis will remember
the match more than most after scoring early on and then keeping
a clean sheet making his debut in goal in the final quarter.

Match report

Having not played a competitive match since the end of January,
our senior men's squad was looking forward to playing the first
two matches in the SE regional championship.
Although we had a number of players unavailable and also a
couple of late withdrawals, we still took a strong squad of 11
to play what looked like being two tough fixtures.
These are the individual match reports:

Southampton are a much improved team and they have benefitted
from playing in the British Water Polo League and as a result we
knew that this would be a tough game.
It certainly proved to be the case, and we had to play well to
secure a hard earned victory. We started the game well and our
defensive strategy frustrated the opposition for long periods
forcing them to take shots from areas that made it relatively
simple for Ben in goal.
We scored three good goals and we looked as though we were going
to control the remainder of the match. The second quarter was a
strange affair when we managed to let Southampton score twice,
Richard was harshly dismissed for dissent and I received a
yellow card for no obvious reason. We soon regained control and
we scored 5 unanswered goals and as a result the game was
effectively over at half-time when we led 8-2
The 3rd and 4th quarters were relatively comfortable and we used
the bench players to great effect knowing that we only had an
hour and a half break before the second game.
We controlled the remainder of the match fairly comfortably and
the final score really was a fair reflection of how we had
dominated the game.
All the squad had a good amount of water time and our four
juniors (Joe, Robbie, Jacob and Ben) all made significant
contributions.

If Crawley have a full strength team, as they did at the
knock-out final in January, they can be a very difficult team to
play, but in this match they had several players missing and we
took full advantage.
We dominated the match from start to finish and we possibly
could have won by a bigger margin with some slightly better
finishing but we were always in control.
8 squad members scored, including an interesting hat-trick for
goal keeper Ben Alcorn who scored once when in goal and twice
when playing as an outfield player in the final quarter.
Once again we were able to rotate the squad regularly and
everyone played well in what was a comfortable win.

It was good to start the 2015 season with two good wins and we
are looking forward to playing the remaining two fixtures in
this competition at Splashpoint on Saturday 27th June.
We will be playing Guildford and Basingstoke on that day and we
will obviously hope to retain the title with two wins.

Finally, it was really good to see so many supporters at
Portsmouth who made it a great atmosphere and I hope that we
will play to even bigger crowds at Splashpoint at the end of
June.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report

28/1/2015

This is the first report of 2015 but strangely it is of the 2014
Sussex county senior knock-out final.
The match had to be held over from the back end of last year
until last Saturday due to fixture congestion.

This always promised to be a tough match with Crawley now a much
improved team and at full strength where as we were missing a
number of our established senior squad members.
As a result we knew that a number of our juniors would have to
play a significant part if we were to have a chance of retaining
the trophy that we won lat year.
We made a tentative start and we still trailed by the four goal
handicap at the end of the first quarter, but we sorted out or
defensive tactics at the break and we subsequently took control
of the match.
Crawley never had an answer to our strong outside shooting and
they also struggled to break down our defensive play when we
were organised correctly.
The game remained relatively close but by the start of the final
period we led by an overall two goal margin and we looked in
relative control. The first goal was always going to be
important and Peter scored early on to give us a three goal
advantage and that always looked to be too much for a tiring
opposition.
This proved to be the case and with clever game management
including two time outs, we comfortably secured a satisfactory
win.
It wasn't always pretty, but we were effective when we needed to
be and we controlled the key parts of the match.
All the juniors played a part but Joe was unlucky to be excluded
after three major fouls. Ben Curtis, Jacob and Robbie all made
good contributions.

Jon Gray has recently been refereeing in the British water polo
league having only taken up officiating relatively recently. He
has already been re-graded as a result of his efforts and it's
good to see another Worthing member now actively involved in
officiating at a high level.

Holly Stoner should be congratulated on being included in the GB
talent national squad for her age group. She attended a trial
weekend earlier in January in Cardiff and she has now been
invited to join the squad that will train approximately once a
month. Holly is the first Worthing girl to be included in a
national junior squad for a number of years and she will now
have the opportunity to train on a regular basis with girls from
all round the UK.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match report - Promotion

15/12/2014

This is the report from the second day of the final weekend of
the British Water Polo League.

We went into the final match of the season still needing a
single point to secure a top three finish and to make certain of
promotion to division 2.
After a really positive team meeting the squad made an excellent
start and by the end of the first quarter the result never
really looked to be in doubt. Undoubtedly we were helped by
Exeter having a number of players suspended for this match but
our squad were ruthless in taking advantage of every
opportunity.
Our defending was again of a high standard and Marc was in good
form making a number of quality saves when Exeter did create a
few opportunities. In attack we scored a number goals with some
very quick counter-attacking play and Exeter really struggled to
deal with the speed and directness of our play.
The goals were shared around 9 of the outfield players with
Richard in particularly good form scoring 6. It was good to see
Jacob score twice on his debut weekend, once from a well worked
man-up play with the other being on a quick counter attack.
All of the squad made good contributions to the win and we spent
virtually all the match using our substitutes to maximum effect
and it has been one of key parts of the seasons success.
In the end this was probably one of our easiest wins of the
season but we produced the right performance when we needed it
and the two points were more than enough to secure promotion.

After missing out on promotion last season in the final match,
it was always our aim to try and reach division 2 of the BWPL
this year. It's been a very tough 14 match campaign with a
number of very tight games but our overall record was finally,
won 11, drawn 1 and lost 2. The two defeats were both by narrow
margins and we have been highly competitive throughout the whole
season and we eventually finished well clear of the the teams
below us.
As a result we will play the 2015 season in division 2 for the
first time in the clubs history and this ranks us inside the top
16 teams in the country which is an excellent achievement. The
higher standard will obviously be a huge challenge for us but we
are already looking forward to playing some of the bigger teams
in UK water polo.
Finally, it was really nice to see so many supporters make the
long journey to Lancaster and we were all delighted to produce
the right result.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match report

14/12/2014

This is the report of the first match of the final British Water
Polo League weekend of the 2014 season.
We knew that the final weekend would always be a difficult
affair with the squad facing a long journey to Lancaster which
is the furthest distance we have had to travel since we joined
the national league.
Fortunately the journey north on Saturday morning proved to be
relatively trouble free and all of the squad arrived in plenty
of time.
We arrived at Lancaster knowing that a single point from the two
matches would secure promotion to the second division of the
BWPL for the first time in the clubs history, but we also knew
that we faced tough matches against Solihull and Exeter. We also
had to cope without our two leading scorers with Shaun Hotchkiss
back home in New Zealand and Joao Martins also unavailable. As a
result, Ziggy Tate came into the squad for his first appearance
of the season and Philippe Kirsanov and Jacob Nash made their
debuts in the national league. Jacob became the latest junior to
come through the ranks and feature at this level of competition.

This was a tight, physical match with little to choose between
the two teams who both defended well throughout.
Our problem was creating enough chances against the very strong
pressing defence that Solihull used throughout the match. We
also missed a few opportunities that we perhaps should have
scored, but chances were always at a premium.
The match got off to a relatively slow start and although we
fell behind Tom soon equalised. Solihull scored twice more to
lead 3-1 but Alastair came up with a good finish to reduce the
deficit at the end of the quarter.
The second period was a similar affair and Philippe scored his
first goal for the club with an excellent finish from centre
forward, but we unfortunately conceded two poor goals which
resulted in Solihull stretching the lead to 5-3. The third
quarter was very tight but Sam scored after making a fine
attacking drive and Alastair added his second with another good
finish.
With only a two goal deficit at the start of the final period
the squad knew that we were still very much in the match, but we
missed a couple of key opportunities at the start of the quarter
and then Solihull scored to increase the lead. Sam scored his
second and Philippe also added a further goal, but the
opposition defended their lead well and we ran out of time to
try and secure a positive result.
It was disappointing to lose this very competitive match but we
realised that we hadn't really produced enough to secure a win.
It was good to see all of the squad contribute and Jacob made an
encouraging debut.
We now move on to the Sunday match against Exeter which again
promises to be a tough encounter.

After the epic win against Birmingham on the Saturday, we faced
the second match of the weekend against a strong Hucknall team.
This is a very competitive division and the results on Saturday
of all the matches proved that any of the teams are capable of
winning games.
It was with this in mind that we prepared to play Hucknall who
are always a well organised, physical team with a number of
talented players.
We started well and Joe quickly gave us the lead and then Shaun
doubled the advantage with a terrific shot into the far corner.
Our defensive plan was working well and at the end of the period
we looked in control of the match leading 3-2.
Unfortunately, we then lost concentration and a number of basic
errors started to appear in our play, particularly in defence,
and Hucknall took advantage to lead 5-4 at half time.
The third quarter was another scrappy affair with both teams
trading goals and we were still behind 8-9 at the end of the
period. Remarkably, just like the previous day's match against
Birmingham, we came from behind in the final quarter to secure
the win. We actually contrived to miss a penalty and a couple of
other chances when we should have scored but goals from Nathan
and then Joe gave us a 10-9 advantage but another defensive
error allowed Hucknall to equalise with 3 minutes remaining.
With time running down Alastair Hardinge produced a terrific
finish from centre forward to regain the lead and in a frantic
finish featuring three time outs and some idiosyncratic
refereeing decisions, we eventually held on to win by the
narrowest of margins.
This was another huge win when we managed produce a positive
result when we hadn't played at our best.
The team continue to win tight games and we are in a good
position as we look forward to the final two fixtures that will
be played at Lancaster in three weeks time.

Match report

Having played the the first three matches in Championship 2 at
Luton two weeks ago when we won twice and suffered a narrow
defeat, we travelled to the second round of fixtures to play
against Birmingham and Hucknall.
These promised to be another two tough games in what is already
looking to be a very competitive division. Once gain we were
able to play with a full squad of thirteen, and our strong
substitutes bench has definitely been one of the reasons that we
have won some of the close games.
We knew that Birmingham would be another tough team to play and
this certainly proved to be the case.

Worthing 9, Birmingham 7.
Quarter Scores: 1-3, 1-2, 2-2, 5-0

Sometimes the quarter scores don't truly reflect how a match
worked out but this certainly wasn't the case in this tough
encounter against a strong Birmingham team.
Quite simply we struggled to get into the match at the start,
and a poor first quarter when we didn't play anything like our
normal standard soon saw us 3-0 down. Joao scored just before
the end of the period but we had made a slow start and the team
realised that we needed to improve in the remainder of the match
if we were to have a chance of recording a positive result.
Things didn't improve greatly in the second quarter when we
still made too many basic errors and a single goal from Richard
meant that we trailed 2-5 at half-time.
In the third period we conceded another goal early on before Sam
stepped up with two good finishes to reduce the deficit to 4-6.
Unfortunately another poor defensive play saw the team concede
again and as a result we started the final quarter 4-7 down.
At this point, and after a change of tactics, the game changed
and we suddenly looked the dominant team. With Birmingham tiring
Shaun scored the crucial first goal and then Nathan made the
score 6-7 with just under 4 minutes remaining. Nathan was
dealing well with the opposition centre forward and Marc made
some key saves when it really mattered. Joao tied the scores at
7-7 with an excellent finish after a Birmingham player was
excluded and we took the lead for the first time in the match
when Richard scored his second goal with just over 1 minute
left.
From this point we closed the match out with some good defensive
play and Joao sealed the win with another cool finish with 20
seconds left.
This was not one of our best performances but we hadn't played
well and we still managed to secure a win which is testament to
the way that the team battles hard even when things aren't going
well.
We now face another tough match against Hucknall early tomorrow
when we will be looking to secure another vital win.

Having suffered our first defeat of this season's national
league program in the morning, we knew that it was important
that we made sure of the points against a young Manchester Hawks
team.
We have played this particular opposition on many occasions over
the years and we are always aware of how they play. As a result
we discussed at length at the pre-match meeting how we could
best deal with their style and the tactics that we played were
mainly successful.
We didn't, unfortunately, play at our best for long periods and
it looked as though the physicality of the morning match was
taking it's toll on the team but we were always in control.
Joe scored 2 excellent goals to give us an early lead but
Manchester soon tied the game. An excellent goal from Richard
from centre forward and a good finish from Shaun gave us a 4-2
lead at the end of the first quarter and Shaun scored twice and
Sam once in the second period to extend the lead to 7-4 at
halftime.
At this point I fully expected that we would go on to dominate
the remainder of the match but we contrived to miss chance after
chance in the second half which kept Manchester in the game.
Shaun scored again in the third quarter and Alastair added an
excellent finish to a quality pass from Sam.
We never seriously looked like relinquishing the lead but it was
slightly disappointing that we didn't record a bigger win. That
said, Manchester always worked hard to make it difficult for us
but we never really played our best and we looked tired,
particularly in the second half of the match.
Three full games inside 24 hours is always demanding at this
level but we did enough to record another vital win.

We now look forward to the next round of matches against
Hucknall and Birmingham which will be played at Gloucester in
two weeks time.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match report

10/11/2014

This is the report of our second Championship 2 match versus
Carlisle.

9th November 2014

We returned to Luton's pool at 8:30am for the first game of
the day with the same full strength squad from the previous
day. We were unfortunately without our team coach and
inspirational leader Alastair Roberts, who had family issues
to attend to.

The match proved to be a very physical affair, but an even
one, with both teams trading goals early in the first
quarter. Carlisle constantly posed a threat going forward,
and their physical style of defence proved to be tough to
break down. The second quarter became a more one sided
affair, with our centre forwards unable to gain any
advantage in the pit position. The Carlisle pit defence was
doing a sound job of not allowing the ball into the centre
forward and Worthing played into Carlisle's hands, giving
them a 3 goal lead heading into the second half.

We then manage to adapt our style of play, due somewhat to
the growing major count, as a direct result of some canny
Carlisle play, and Worthing mounted a solid comeback. The
forth quarter would start with Carlisle having a slim 1 goal
lead. The final quarter ebbed and flowed with both teams
playing some excellent polo. The score remained close and
with two minutes thirty remaining on the clock, the score
was 10-10. The final minutes saw Carlisle take the
initiative and left Worthing in possession with 30 seconds
remaining trailing 11-10. Despite all our efforts, Worthing
failed to convert the final efforts on goal, leaving the
score 11-10 in favour of Carlisle.

It was a hard fought game against a strong Carlisle team,
which had a few new faces and a great physical presence.
Worthing did exceptionally well to adjust tactics and fight
back to a potential winning situation. We didn't have quite
enough to see us over the finishing line, but it was an all
round good effort by every member of the Worthing squad.

Match report

9/11/2014

This is a report of the first match in the second phase of this
season's British Water Polo League.
Having been unbeaten in the first phase of the competition in
division 3, we are now playing in Championship 2 which will
decide our final finishing position. We will play 7 matches over
three weekends and the top three teams will secure a place in
the second division for the 2015 season.
The first weekend is a demanding three match program and on
Sunday we have games against Carlisle and Manchester Hawks.

The first match in the second phase of the competition was
against one of the three teams from the higher division and
Penguin have a long history as one of the established teams in
British water polo.
We made a really strong start to the match and our defensive
strategy immediately made it hard for the opposition to create
many clear cut opportunities. Marc was his normal reliable self
in goal making a number of saves when required and we soon had
the Penguin defence under pressure.
Joe opened the scoring and Richard extended the lead before
Shaun quickly added a couple of goals that put us in control at
the end of the first quarter. The second period saw Richard
score again and Joao quickly registered a hatrick, and with a
8-1 lead at half-time we were in seemingly little danger.
This proved to be the case and we controlled the second half of
the game comfortably and the final score was a fair reflection
of how we had dominated the match.
All the squad played a part and we used the bench to good effect
in the second half of the match as we comfortably secured the
win.
We know that Sunday will be tough with two matches but this win
was an excellent start to the weekend.

Match report

This was a highly entertaining match against probably the
strongest Hastings team that we have played in many years which
featured Olympian Jack Waller.
We made an excellent start to the match and as a result we
dominated the first quarter scoring several goals on the counter
attack. Matt was in excellent form at the heart of defence and
Richard put in a very solid display at centre forward.
All the squad made a good contribution and it was good to see
that 7 squad members were on the score sheet. Our defending was
not always as good as it can be but Ben made a number of good
saves when required and we were always in control of the game.
Overall this was a satisfactory win against a good team and once
again it was good to see all of our squad make good
contributions.

Match report

28/10/2014

British Water Polo League Division 3.
Marlborough College
25/26 October 2014.

Having played the first five matches of the 2014 season we
travelled to Marlborough hoping to extend our unbeaten run with
games scheduled against Carlisle and South Derbyshire.
With four wins and a draw we hade already qualified in the top
five positions which guarantees our position in division 3 and
will give us the opportunity to try and secure promotion in the
second phase.
Once again we were able to name a full squad of 13 for this
weekend and we have definitely benefitted from having a stronger
substitutes bench so far this season.
These are the individual match reports:

Carlisle are a good quality team and we have had a number of
excellent matches against them over the previous years, and we
knew that this would be another tough match in this very
competitive division.
As the quarter scores indicate, we took control of the match in
the first quarter and at half-time we had extended the lead to
6-1 which always looked like a lead that would prove to be
enough.
This proved to be the case, even though Carlisle tried hard to
fashion a comeback. particularly at the start of the final
period. Our defending, backed by another excellent display from
Marc in goal, always made it difficult for Carlisle and to only
concede 1 goal in the first half of the match indicates how well
we had played.
In attack we always carried a threat and Shaun scored the first
two goals of the game during the first quarter. Joao added the
third goal before the end of the period and we actually missed
on another couple of occasions when we probably should have
scored.
From half-time we were able to make good use of our substitutes
and all of the squad made a significant contribution during the
game. Even though Carlisle tried to make a comeback in the final
quarter switching to a full press, we were comfortably ahead and
we simply controlled the remainder of game to secure the win
Scorers: Shaun 4, Joao 3, Tom 1, Toby 1, Paul 1, Richard 1.
Exclusions: Nathan 2, Marc 1, Shaun 1, Toby 1.

Another win to finish the first phase of the competition didn't
see us at our best but we still comfortably did enough to secure
the points.
We never played at our best but we took the opportunity to play
a new defensive tactic which didn't quite work as well as we had
hoped. It was, however, a good opportunity to try a few
different things and the team will benefit from this as the
season continues.
We made a relatively slow start and fell behind but we soon
started to take control and we had a good lead by the end of the
first quarter. We continued to dominate the remainder of the
game with our attacking play seeing the team score consistently,
but we probably conceded some goals that we really have avoided.
In the final quarter the strength and fitness of our squad
resulted in a number of goals on the counter attack and we
really should have added to the final total with better
finishing at times.
Overall this was a satisfactory end to the first phase and we
were delighted to have remained unbeaten with 6 wins and 1 draw.
Scorers: Shaun 5, Joao 5, Richard 2, Joe 2, Tom 1, Nathan 1,
Paul 1.
Exclusions: Kevin 1, Richard 1, Nathan 1, Sam 1.

This was another good weekend for the team and we are really
pleased to have finished second in the division only on goal
difference. The tough part of the season is now about to start
with the first weekend of the second phase taking place in Luton
in two weeks time.
We have played some good water polo at times in the first phase
but we now realise that we will have to work hard in the next
seven matches if we are to have a chance of promotion.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match report

Having enjoyed two close wins three weeks ago at Ponds Forge in
Sheffield, we travelled to Grantham looking forward to playing a
busy three match program over the two days.
With matches on the Saturday against London Otter and Solihull
and a Sunday game against Hucknall, this promised to be a
demanding schedule of games.
Unfortunately we were without three of the squad who played at
Sheffield, with Peter Benedek and Alexander Cranford both
injured and Markiyan Polovyy unavailable because of work
commitments.
This gave us an opportunity to give 15 year old Ben Curtis his
national league debut and we also included Kevin Chan and the
experienced Gregg Candy-Wallace.
These are the individual match reports:

This was a very satisfactory win which was secured with a fine
first quarter performance when we dominated the game with strong
defence and good attacking play.
As a result we were able to control the remainder of the game
when we looked to use all of our playing squad.
Shaun led the scoring with four, with three of his goals coming
in a 5 minute period during the first quarter. Richard and Paul
both scored hat tricks and Joao, Joe and Toby (with his first
national league goal) scored one each.
Our defending was always well organised and Marc made a number
of goods saves when required but we really restricted Otter to a
relatively small number of chances.
With the second game of the day due to be played in under 4
hours, it was important that we rested as many of the squad as
possible during this game and our strong first quarter made this
possible.

This was always going to be a tough and competitive game with
two teams meeting who both had won their first three matches.
Solihull are a well organised and talented team who have a very
strong centre forward as well as accurate and powerful outside
shooters. As a result we knew that we had to have the tactical
plan in place to minimize the Solihull attack and after a
slightly slow start we eventually started to find our form.
Having conceded 4 goals in the first period, our improved
defending limited the opposition to only 5 goals in the
remaining 3 quarters.
We did struggle in attack at times with Solihull using a very
uncompromising press defence, but we kept going and scored a
number of well worked goals.
With the game tied at 7-7 at the start of the final quarter it
was always going to be a nervy finish and it certainly proved to
be the case. Solihull soon took an 8-7 lead but Alastair
equalised with a good finish from the centre forward position
but we fell behind again with just under 4 minutes remaining. In
a frantic finish a good attack led to Solihull committing an
exclusion foul and after a time out Joao scored the goal to make
it 9-9.
In the last two minutes Marc was harshly excluded but we came up
with some outstanding defending to keep the scores level. After
another couple of time outs we controlled the final play of the
match and the points were shared.
This was a creditable draw and we battled back from 7-4 deficit
at one stage showing again that we are a hard team to beat.

The third match of the weekend is always destined to be hard
work with the squad having played the two tough games on the
Saturday. This is exactly how the match against Hucknall turned
out and we struggled to play as well as we can but we still did
enough to secure another vital win.
Unfortunately Joao was not available for this match so we had a
reduced squad of 12.
We started well and our defence was particularly effective with
Marc in excellent form in goal and we kept a clean sheet up to
the half-time break. Our attacking play was not at it's best and
we struggled to create many clear cut chances but Tom scored
with a cool finish on a counter attack and Joe and Shaun added
goals that gave us a 3-0 advantage at half time.
In the third quarter we made some defensive errors which allowed
Hucknall back into the game and as a result we started the final
period with only a 1 goal advantage.
We re-grouped at the break and our defending once again proved
to be the crucial part of our game plan. We were still
struggling in attack but Paul scored a crucial goal to give us a
two goal advantage and then Joe scored his third goal of the
game with only 36 seconds remaining. Hucknall did get a goal
back in the final few seconds but we had done enough to secure a
vital 6-4 win

This was another excellent weekend for the squad and we now have
two first phase matches remaining against Carlisle and South
Derbyshire. These games will be played in three weeks time at
the Marlborough College pool and we will obviously be hoping to
extend our unbeaten run.
At Grantham it was pleasing that all of the squad played a part
in our three matches and it was particularly encouraging to see
our four juniors all play a significant part.
We still have work to do but we are an improving team who will
continue to progress during the remainder of the season

Kind regards,

Alastair

Match report

The latest match for the Worthing senior team resulted in a
comfortable win against a much improved Crawley team.
We were missing several members of our squad but this gave an
opportunity to a number of our juniors who all played well in
the match.
The first quarter was a fairly cagey affair and we struggled
slightly in attack to create quality opportunities but we still
led at the end of period 3-2.
We dominated proceedings in the second period and the half-time
score of 9-4 meant that we were in control. We continued to play
well in the second half and the final score was a fair
reflection of the difference between the two teams.
This was a satisfactory win and all of the squad made good
contributions.Matt led the scorers with 6 but Joao scored 4 with
doubles from Richard, Markiyan and Joe.

Our first ever match in the national league was played at Ponds
Forge against Exeter and on that occasion we lost a close and
very tight match.
As the final score and quarter scores suggest, this was another
really tight match with very little to choose between the teams.
At no stage did either team have more than a two goal advantage
but it was tied at 8-8 at the start of the final period. We fell
behind very early on but Alastair leveled the scores with a
terrific finish and then Tom gave us the lead with a good finish
after a quick break.
Exeter equalised with just over three minutes of the match
remaining but Joao scored with a great finish to give us a 1
goal advantage with two and half minutes remaining. In a very
tense finish we defended really well and took our final time out
with under 30 seconds remaining. We kept possession to run the
clock down and Joe produced a quality finish with 1 second
remaining to put the result beyond doubt.
We hadn't been at our best but we always looked to have enough
quality to win the match and if we had taken our chances we
would have been more comfortable winners. That said, Marc
produced a couple of crucial one against one saves which were
both at vital stages of the match.
Joao led the scorers on his BWPL debut with 5 goals and we had 7
other squad members on the score sheet.
Unfortunately Alastair received a heavy blow to the head during
the game and as a result he had to be ruled out of the Sunday
match.

Having played a close game on Saturday we were possibly hoping
for a slightly simpler win on Sunday. This proved not be the
case and this match gave a good indication of the
competitiveness of the league.
Bristol were a very tough team to play and were well orgainised
and always offered a threat in attack. As a result we were never
able to control the game as we would have liked, and as in the
Saturday the match it was tied at the start of the final
quarter.
We fell behind but Shaun quickly equalised but a poor defensive
play allowed Bristol to take a 10-9 lead. Nathan then equalised
with his only shot of the weekend and we took a time out with
2.42 left which gave us the opportunity to re-group for the
final plays of the match. We forced Bristol to concede an
exclusion foul and the resulting play saw Joe react quickest to
a re-bound from the goalkeeper to score the goal that proved to
be the winner.
We then played out the last 2 minutes with disciplined defending
to record a win by the narrowest possible margin.
Joao and Shaun both scored hat tricks but all the squad played a
part in what was a very hard fought win.

Overall we are delighted to have won the first two fixtures of
the season and we are now looking forward to the next three
match program that will be played at Grantham in three weeks
time.
We know that we need to improve on certain aspects of our play
but this was definitely an encouraging start to the season.

Regards,

Alastair.

SE regional squad

21/07/2014

Just a quick message to let you know that Worthing were
very well represented in the SE regional under 18 boy's squad
that played in the ASA inter region championships at Ponds
Forge, Sheffield last weekend.

Joe Hazeldine, Jacob Nash, Ben Curtis, Tom Kane, Toby Underwood,
Robbie Scott and Archy Burnell were all selected to play in the
team that was coached by Worthing's Ben Alcorn.

In a tough competition, the team won one game with an excellent
performance against the North-east and had two unlucky one goal
defeats against Wales and Scotland. Although they also lost the
remaining game against the North-west, the team were always
competitive and only two of the squad move out of the age group
next year.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

Match Report

29/06/2014

It's been a very busy few days for our men's water polo squad
with a match against Brighton on Friday and the South-east
region tournament at Splashpoint on Saturday and Sunday.

This was a relatively easy win against a hard-working and
competitive Brighton team who are never easy to play against in
their home pool.
We controlled the match after a good first quarter and in the
end we were comfortable winners.

For the second year the regional men's tournament was played at
Splashpoint with five teams involved playing a busy schedule of
10 matches over the two days.
As a result of one of the teams who were scheduled to take part
withdrawing from the competition, the decision was taken to play
the region's under 18 boy's team in the tournament. A number of
the Worthing junior squad were involved with this team which
gave them an excellent opportunity to play against good quality
opposition.
The Worthing team played well in all four matches with the
following results:
Worthing 11, Southampton 5. (3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 2-0)
Worthing 24, Guildford 9. (6-0, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3)
Worthing 16, SE Under 18's 5. (3-0, 4-2, 5-2, 4-1)
Worthing 37, Crawley 0. (13-0, 9-0, 8-0, 7-0)

Overall the tournament was a success but the only downside were
two injuries to Worthing players. Peter Benedek sustained a cut
above the eye but he was patched up and managed to play in all
of the games but Jacob Nash sustained a dislocated finger on the
Saturday which ruled him out of the subsequent matches.

Kind regards,

Alastair.

SE region tournament

21/06/2014

A reminder about the SE
region tournament that takes place next weekend. Attached is a
copy of the format and it would be nice too see as many
supporters as possible, particularly at the Worthing matches,
over the two days. Perhaps it would be a good idea to include
the times of the Worthing matches to encourage as many
supporters as possible to come along.

Regards,
Alastair.

Sussex county under 16 water polo tournament

21/06/2014

The annual Sussex county under 16
water polo tournament took place at K2 Crawley earlier today
and 12 Worthing juniors took part.

The format of the competition is
to divide all of the boys and girls in attendance from various
Sussex clubs into four teams who then play on a round robin
basis.

Match Report

The annual county league fixture at Hastings is always an
intriguing and often entertaining encounter and this year's
match was another challenging affair.
The Summerfield's leisure centre pool is a difficult venue with
a very shallow end and dim lighting that creates interesting
viewing, especially for the goal keepers. Add to this that
Hastings now feature Great Britain squad member Jack Waller and
this is not the easy fixture that it has been. Now that we have
been training and playing at the all deep home pool at
Splashpoint for the last year we really are out of practice with
playing in shallow pools but we eventually produced enough good
water polo on the night to secure a win.
The first quarter was a cagey affair but we defended well and
should have scored more goals from the number of chances that we
created. We took control of the match in the second period and
from the half time break we were able to dictate the match and
secure a satisfactory win.
Overall we played well enough to win the match with a squad of
only eight which included three juniors in Joe Hazeldine, Jacob
Nash and Ben Curtis. For Jacob and Ben this was the first time
that they have ever played in a pool with a shallow end and they
both did well with Ben scoring an excellent goal in the final
quarter.

Match Report

This was the first home match that we had played since late last
year and it was good to see a large number of supporters at
Splashpoint and they seemed to enjoy an exciting match.
Once again we were missing a number of our experienced senior
players but this gave an opportunity to Ben Curtis and Jacob
Nash to be involved with the senior squad and they both played
well. It was good to see Jack Swift make a return after a long
term shoulder injury and also this was the first appearance for
Ziggy Tate for 18 months.
We started the match well, particularly in defence, where we
limited Brighton to a small number of chances that didn't really
trouble Ben Alcorn in goal. In attack we created a good number
of opportunities but we were guilty of missing on a number of
occasions when we really should have scored.
At half-time we led 7-1 and the match really should have been
over but we contrived to have a poor third quarter which gave
Brighton a chance of an unlikely recovery. Two quick goals at
the start of the final period secured the win but we really
should have scored more goals from the number of chances that we
created.
This was satisfactory win when we played well at times,
particularly in the first half, and we saw a number of
encouraging individual displays. It was nice to see that we
again featured four juniors (Joe, Jacob, Ben G and Ben C) in the
squad of eleven and all made significant contributions.

Inter-regional Championships

8/04/2014

Daisy Hazeldine and Gemma Coulson were part of the South-east
girl's squad who competed in the 1997 age group inter region
championship played at the Walsall gala baths this weekend.
On Saturday in the opening group games the team won two matches
against Ireland and Scotland and lost against the North-west. As
a result the team qualified to play in the final round on Sunday
and eventually secured the bronze medal after a 14-10 win
against the South-west.
I'm sure that both of the girls will have enjoyed the experience
and they will have benefitted from playing in a competition that
features the best players in this age group from around the UK.

Regards,
Alastair.

Match Report

31/03/2014

This is the match report from the first fixture of the 2014
Sussex county league season.

Having lost the corresponding fixture last year against a much
improved Crawley team, we were determined to start the 2014
campaign in the defence of our county title with a a good
performance.
With a strong squad of 13 available on the night, including Joel
and Sam Abbott as well as Nathan Hart, we were confident that we
should be too strong for the opposition.
We made a strong start and at the the end of the first quarter
we were in control of the match. At times we weren't at our best
but we still produced enough quality to comfortably secure the
win.
It was good to see all of the squad play a part in the win and
our four junior squad members all made significant
contributions. Joe and Ben Goddard have played regularly in the
senior team for a while but Jacob and Ben Curtis also had good
games and will undoubtedly benefit from having the opportunity
to play with some very talented players.
It was also good to see 8 of the 12 outfield players scoring and
a number of the goals were of a high quality and we probably
could have scored on more occasions with slightly better
finishing.
Overall this was a good win and all of the squad played a part
in securing the result.